Cash for Fore Street changes
News Archive > General > Cash for Fore Street changes
St Austell Town Council have agreed to contribute £10,000 towards the next phase of an initiative to regenerate Fore Streetl.At a meeting on Monday, the council supported this phase of the Civic Pride Initiative, which includes improvement works in Fore Street and Aylmer Place. It is hoped the work will start in late summer.
The proposals include a new granite surface throughout the street, street furniture within a new layout, paving features, street lighting, trees and an upgraded surface water drainage system.
There are also proposals regarding vehicle access to Fore Street with the installation of an automatic rising bollard at the entrance to the street to replace the existing manual locking bollards.
The overall capital cost of the project is £1.53m, of which is hoped to attract £1m in European Regional Development Fund funding, leaving match funding of £0.53m to be raised locally.
Mayor Brian Palmer said: "I think it is the next big step forward for St Austell town centre. Fore Street is in need of attention and I strongly hope that the shop keepers will join in with the refurbishment and help smarten the town up.
"We are hoping to be talking with them to join us with hanging baskets to help make the street look attractive. It is for everyone's benefit to make Fore Street look attractive."
Initially, a large project costing over £3m was proposed but a reduction in funding from the South West Regional Development Agency has meant that the project has had to be reduced in scale.
The improvements for Fore Street and Aylmer Place have have now been designed and will soon be ready for Cornwall Council's submission to bid for convergence ERDF funding.
The initiative may also lead to the regeneration of properties on Fore Street. Town Clerk David Pooley said: "Hopefully, we can follow this up with a regeneration of the buildings following the scheme."
