St Austell Chamber

Saturday the 14th of January saw the first Sports Day in Aylmer Square which was an instant success. Taking part were Mevagissey Gig Club, St Austell Rugby Club, Cornwall Croquet, St Austell Bay Archers, Sustrans and Polkyth Leisure Centre. You could attempt to beat the rower and see how much distance you could cover in one minute, with prizes for the winners donated by Sports World and Argos. Also you could try out the new spinning bikes from polkyth and see how accurate you were with a rugby ball care of St Austell Rugby Club. The Gig in the photographs was supplied by Mevagissey Gig Rowing Club also present was Claire Cordory two times Great Britain Champion who is ranked 20th in the world and 6th in Europe. In all a successful day and a great day out for the members of the public. Another one may well be held in the Summer.

On Tuesday 17th January the Compulsory Purchase Order meeting took place at Restormel Borough Council Chambers. This was to aquire the outstanding premises etc in order that the regeneration can go ahead. The two main objectors to the order withdrew their objections before the meeting and none of the others were represented. The meeting went well and the Inspector has promised his decision by the 20th of February.

On Thursday the 19th of January Sports World opened it’s doors. Situated in the old Courts building in Truro Road it certainly is impressive. The building is historic and used to be the Community Hall when the owners saw the impressive roof structure that was hidden by a false ceiling they ordered the false ceiling be taken down to reveal the ceiling in all it’s glory. It also exposed two minstrel galleries one at each end of the upper floor, it’s certainly worth a visit to see this magnificant feature. Taking up two floors it is stocked to the brim with all sorts of sports wear and equiptment and surely will be an asset to St Austell Town, we wish them well.

On Thursday 16th February the official opening of Costa Coffee took place. They opened their doors to the public in December and over the Christmas period donated 10p for every cup of coffee sold to the Mayors Fund. Simon Berry managing director and Alison Roose shop manager presented a cheque for £500 to the Mayor Marilyn Wellman. Since opening Costa Coffee has gone from strength to strength and makes a great meeting place. They are open from 6.30 to 6.30 Monday to Friday, 8.00 to 6.00 Saturdays and 9.00 to 5.00 on Sundays.

AC 1 Recruitment, one of the leading recruitment agencies in Cornwall, has moved its Wesley Street offices in Camborne to much larger, more prominent premises in Commercial Street in the centre of the town.

Tony Cousins, AC 1’s managing director, formed the successful agency in 1999. He said: “It’s all going very well for us at the moment. Camborne is growing rapidly; in St Austell we are keeping a close eye on the regeneration project and will plan our expansion in line with the town’s development.
“In general, businesses across the county are flourishing at the moment and we like to think that we have helped many of them in their success by finding the right staff - something that can be very costly for the employer to rectify if the expertise of an agency isn’t used. Of course, our clients have also contributed to AC 1’s success, for which I am very, very grateful. Let’s hope we all continue to flourish into the future.”

On Tuesday the 28th March, Shrove Tuesday, a series of pancake races took place at midday in Aylmer Square. There were teams from RBC, MCBG, Surestart, Polkyth Leisure Centre, General Public and a junior race. The final race between the winners of the individual heats was won by Martin Mullen from Polkyth making him overall winner. One of the highlights of the afternoon was the disqualification of Gareth Pinwell from RBC for abusing his pancake. A lot of fun was had by all and thanks went out to the organisers and to Speedy Hire for the loan of the barriers. Watch out for further events in the near future!

A mamouth clean up exercise will take place in the town centre on the 29th and 30th of March. This is part of the package of measures worth over £200,000 that has been funded by RBC and SWRDA. The programme of initiatives include a town centre maintenance agreement which includes a hotline for traders to report issues needing attention(e.g. litter and graffiti), replacement of the existing seating and planters in Fore Street to be replaced with new granite ones, signage round the town improved, some street furniture in Aylmer Square removed to create a space for a street market and help to continue marketing initiatives. All stops are being pulled out to be ready for the tourist season and to ensure that the town is as welcoming and attractive as possible during the redevelopment period.

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has today [thursday, march 16] given the go-ahead for Restormel Borough Council to compulsorily acquire key sites in St Austell to progress the multi-million pound town centre redevelopment.
The decision by the Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon John Prescott MP, follows a public inquiry into the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) in February. The inquiry was completed sooner than expected, paving the way for a quick decision.

The CPO was a legal necessity to ensure that there were no outstanding land interests that needed to be acquired before the redevelopment scheme began.

The town centre redevelopment is a partnership between the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA), Restormel Borough Council and private developer David McLean Developments Ltd.

The regeneration scheme will see new shops, new restaurants and cafes, and a new state-of-the-art four-screen cinema. There will also be over 60 new homes, a concealed 550-space car park, new toilets and two new public squares.

Robert McGuffie, regeneration manager for the South West RDA in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, said: “This is great news for the redevelopment of the town centre. It means that we can now prepare the legal contracts to acquire formally the sites that we need, ready for the final phase of demolitions that will include the cinema, the Tesco building and the block on Aylmer Square that is currently home to The Engine House and Peacocks.”
Mr McGuffie said a deal to acquire the Tesco building was in the hands of solicitors and would be completed in the next few weeks. A deal has also been reached with the owner of the cinema and contracts have been drawn up.
The final phase of demolitions is scheduled for September and will take approximately three months. This will avoid the busy summer season and allow for all the necessary legal work to be completed so that the demolitions can be carried out at the same time, minimising disruption to the town centre.

Acting Leader, Councillor Tim Jones said: “This is extremely good news for the town and is another significant decision which will enable the town centre regeneration scheme to happen. This Council is committed to securing the economic growth and prosperity of the Borough. This scheme is critically important not just for the people of St Austell but for the whole Borough; when finished it will make a real difference to the people who live in Restormel. I know local residents believe that it has taken a long time to get to this stage, so I hope that this decision will result in a start on site being made as soon as possible. I am sure that our partners will be working towards this aim.”

Councillor Annette Egerton, the executive member for regeneration at Restormel Borough Council said: “This news will give the regeneration of St Austell a great boost - it’s fantastic news for the town. The confirmation of the Order is a significant step forward; it gives the developer certainty that it can obtain the whole site which is required for the development.
As a consequence of the CPO, the developer will now be able to press ahead with the detailed design work and appoint experts to bring the scheme to fruition in as short a timescale as is possible. The people of St Austell will see a physical start on site as soon as these necessary steps are completed.”

Acting Chief Executive, Gareth Pinwell added: “The decision marks a clear watershed for the scheme. The partners now have the ability to assemble the whole site and press ahead the prep work that is necessary to make a physical start on site as soon as is practicable.
The CPO gives a clear message to potential investors in the area that the regeneration of St Austell Town Centre is imminent and that an environment is being established which will encourage further economic growth in and around the largest town in Cornwall. I am pleased to be part of a team of partners who have made strenuous efforts, sometimes in difficult circumstances, to bring this essential project forward.”

John Allen of David McLean Developments Ltd, said: “This is the decision we were waiting for. We can press ahead with the 1.5 million of detailed design work that needs to be done before we can tender for the construction contract later in the summer, and means that we should be able to start on site towards the end of the year. It also gives certainty to the retailers who have expressed an interest in the scheme and allows us to start discussing their specific requirements in detail.”

Paul Scott, chairman of St Austell Chamber of Commerce, said: “Chamber members will be breathing a huge sigh of relief that the CPO has been approved, and the Government has clearly listened to our pleas for an early decision. It unlocks the whole regeneration process and we look forward to the final phase of demolitions starting in the autumn.”

On Wednesday the 29th and Thursday the 30th of March the spring clean of the town centre took place. This involved clearing litter, weeds, graffiti, replacing some of the litter bins and putting up hanging baskets. This is the first stage of the support package put in place by RBC and SWRDA costing over ??200,000. The whole aim is to spruce up the town centre and make it more attractive while the demolition and regeneration takes place starting in the Autumn.

This week, the week of the big clean, saw a major celebration in the town. David Cole of Plus 2 Menswear, which is situated in Duke Street, celebrated 47 years of trading in the town centre. In a time when we are seeing much unnecessary negative publicity we find an amazing success story. David has recently had the shop refurbished and is reporting good business since November. Congratulations David and wishing you many more years of success to come.