THE latest corporate logo for Cornwall has once again been

slammed by critics after the unveiling of the final draft of

the much derided emblem which will represent the county.

The flame-like design – which will cost £65,000 to implement

but has been condemned as looking like "the emblem of a cattle

breed society from somewhere in the Balkans" – has been adapted

to be more reminiscent of St Piran's flag, designers say.

But critics say the money would be better spent on public

services and have dismissed the latest adaptations as "window

dressing".

The new logo will replace the current county crest when the

unitary authority takes over from the county council and

district councils next year.

Graeme Hicks, leader of Kerrier District Council, who sits

on the implementation executive responsible for the transition

to the unitary authority, said: "Frankly it's bizarre. This is

no better than the last one – it's just window dressing."

"People want something that represents Cornwall's cultural

identity. There is a passion in Cornwall that the people making

these decisions don't understand."

The current county crest featuring a fisherman, miner and a

chough will be ditched next April in favour of the new

logo.

Mr Hicks said: "The whole issue is being run by a bungling

load of incompetents.

"We had a good logo that represented Cornwall well. These

people don't want the county crest because they are saying it's

a new council but really it's a county council takeover."

On the streets of Truro yesterday, the people of Cornwall

remained unimpressed with the adaptations made to the

design.

Sheila Pascoe, from Truro, said: "It's like moving the

deckchairs on the Titanic. That doesn't look like the cross of

St Piran to me. What was wrong with the old one?

"If you ask me it's a waste of money that could be far

better spent elsewhere."

David Tonkin, from Truro, said: "I can't see any difference

in this latest design. What's the matter with the miner and the

fisherman? There has to be more important things to spend money

on than a logo."

Writing on the comment and discussion website

www.Cornwall24.co.uk Bardh said: "Looks to me like the emblem

of a cattle breed society from somewhere in the Balkans. Is

somebody trying to tell us something?"

It was initially feared that adopting the new logo on all

council property could cost £500,000 but the implementation

executive decided only to go ahead with changes to main council

sites used by the public, customer service staff and library

vans, costing £65,000.

The new logo will be introduced elsewhere as and when

uniforms, badges and vehicles are replaced.

The logo was designed in-house and chosen from more than 30

entries and, according to the new authority, is intended to

represent a "dynamic new corporate identity".

Davinia Grist, spokesman for One Cornwall, said: "The

corporate identity that was originally presented was a draft

version. It was always the intention of the designers to do

further work on the design.

"The designers have tweaked the design to highlight the St

Piran's flag – it was part of the draft design, however it

wasn't clear."

Ms Grist said that in matters of design it was never

possible to please everybody and said she had received comments

such as: "The new unitary logo is very good, it's modern,

contemporary, a breath of fresh air, fit for Cornwall in the

21st century."