Half of the projects under the Town Deal programme are now underway, one year on from the first £18m in funding coming to Cornwall.
17 projects aimed at supporting regeneration in Camborne, Penzance, St Ives and Truro are now on their way to becoming a reality.
For some this has meant securing match funding, finalising designs and applying for planning permission, while the more advanced projects are in the process of contracting builders or already under construction.
Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council cabinet portfolio holder for economy, said:
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime investment for Cornwall and the four Town Deal Boards are working hard to realise the vision for their communities. The first phase of funding triggered the start of a lot of the ‘behind the scenes’ work required to bring these projects to fruition. Now we’re starting to see real progress on these projects and plans are underway for the remaining half of our programme, the largest across the Country.”
Projects underway include:
Camborne
- Refurbishment is underway on the former Boots shop – a disused building in the heart of the town centre. Foundry will provide a modern co-working space featuring meeting rooms, private studios, kitchen and lounge as well as an event space and courtyard garden.
- Project A-Void 2 has started to provide small capital grants for local businesses and organisations to improve their premises and enhancing the shopping experience in the town.
- Create Contemporary Crafts Hub is entering the second stage in the refurbishment of the Donald Thomas Centre, following the completion of a glass and ceramics studio offering a dedicated space for artists as well as training courses for residents.
Penzance and Newlyn
- Penzance Enterprise Grants - supporting small and medium sized businesses, the grants provide funds for capital projects of up to £250,000 aiming to encourage new business opportunities, jobs and stronger supply chains. 40 applications have been received since the opening of the scheme last May.
- Following the purchase of Market House, designs are being progressed to give a new life to the vacant part of the building.
- Construction work on The Gardeners’ House is set to begin in December followed by Newlyn Marine Skills & Resource Centre in early part of 2024.
St Ives
- Expected to be completed by the end of 2023, the Community Orchard and Wildlife Reserve project will feature a new environmentally sustainable facility on Penbeagle Hill, with opportunities for training, workshops and community events for residents, local groups and schools.
- Work will begin later this month on paving the way for the restoration of St Ives Guildhall, a project to update the much-loved community building and create a venue to provide jobs, training and work experience.
- Planning permission is now in place for a £4.9m project to create a community hub, production studio and learning space at Leach Pottery.
Truro
- A state-of-the-art digital lab at Royal Cornwall Museum will be completed next summer to provide a revamped minerals exhibition as part of the museum’s wider transformation.
- Truro Harbour, Lemon Quay and Green Transport projects have received their contracts and the teams behind the projects are working collaboratively to develop initial designs that respond to the Town Investment Plan’s vision of a reinvigorated, better connected and sustainable City. An exhibit of the proposed plans for the transport project is under preparation for this autumn and will mark the start of the public consultation for these interlinked and extensive projects.
Val Dalley, Chair of the Camborne Town Deal Board said:
“The vision set out in the Town Investment Plan has really started to take shape in Camborne, with the old and vacant Boots shop being refurbished into a brand new co-working space; capital improvement grants being awarded to local businesses by Camborne BID; the replacement of the grandstand roof at the recreation ground and the transformation of the Donald Thomas Centre into the Create Contemporary Crafts Hub. Plenty more is in store for 2024 as our other projects get their funding agreements this autumn.”
Martin Tucker, Chair of the Penzance Town Deal Board, said:
“The Town Deal projects in Penzance and Newlyn have been gaining real momentum with most of our projects having now started their delivery. Our Enterprise Grants scheme has been really popular and round two for grants of under £50,000 is about to start again. In November, we will be consulting on the proposals to improve sustainable travel in the town, while in December we should see the first shovel in the ground as work start on the Gardeners’ House.”
Gareth Jones, Vice Chair of the St Ives Town Deal Board, said:
“We are very proud of what we have achieved so far in St Ives and are particularly excited to see the completion of our first project approaching fast. We are looking forward to the opening early next year of the new sustainable community facility on the orchard site. Round two of our Enterprise Grants Scheme is also about to reopen. We will also be consulting our community later this year on the initial proposals for the low carbon transport project.”
Alan Stanhope, Chair of Truro Town Deal Board, said:
“Truro has seven projects progressing at different stages – from planning permission to funding awards. Our first Town Deal award was released to Royal Cornwall Museum to transform its mineral gallery and develop a state-of-the-art digital lab with work expected to be complete by summer 2024. The Truro Community Hub and the Hive along Pydar Street successfully gained their planning permission this year. Improvement work has been started on Boscawen Park. Work continues behind the scenes for our largest and interlinked projects – Green Transport, Lemon Quay and Truro Harbour. The projects had their business cases approved by the board and are now preparing for public consultation in the coming months.”
Cornwall Council, in partnership with the Town Deal Boards in Camborne, Penzance, St Ives and Truro, successfully bid for £88.7million from the UK Government’s Town Deal as part of its Levelling Up initiative.
The funding will support 34 projects and will contribute to the regeneration of the towns and boost the local economy. As the Lead Authority for the programme, Cornwall Council administrates the Fund. Work between the projects and Cornwall Council is progressing to enable transfer of the funding to the remaining projects in the programme. All projects are expected to enter into delivery next year. Activities funded by the Town Deal are due to be completed by March 2026.
