Helston is one of four town to benefit from funding to revitalise the high street thanks to grants from the Council's Town Centre Revitalisation Fund (TCRF).

Camelford, Helston, Liskeard and Torpoint will each receive a grant of up to £100,000 to develop plans to support economic, social and environmental improvements to benefit residents and businesses.

The funding, which will come from the Town Vitality Fund strand of the Town Centre Revitalisation Fund, in Helston it will support:

£100,000 to support proposals to refurbish Helston's Market Place and Drill Hall Yard, and potentially creating an outdoor event space in that area; measures to promote the conversion of empty high street premises for residential and workspace use; plans to improve transport connectivity around Helston; as well as improvements to pavements, paths, traffic flow and cycleways in the town.

Torpoint received £50,000, Liskeard £50,000 and £7,000 for Camelford.

The Council set up a £4m Town Centre Revitalisation Fund (TCRF) in February 2020 in response to the findings of its Vitality of High Streets Inquiry, which heard evidence on the economic challenges faced by Cornwall's high streets.

To combat these challenges, including empty shops and reduced footfall due to changing shopping habits, the TCRF aims to support town vitality and prosperity by encouraging communities to form partnerships and develop investment proposals.

Of this £4m, £1m was set aside for the Town Vitality Fund – to support town partnerships to develop plans to improve their Town Centres.

Helston Mayor John Martin and Cornwall Councillor Mike Thomas said in a joint statement:

"We're delighted that Helston has been able to secure this funding and thank Cornwall Council for their support. The Helston team has worked extremely hard to develop a strong 'Place Shaping Plan' for our town which will address important issues and bring much-needed vitality back to the town centre: we're all grateful for their dedication.

"This is only the first step and we're certain that with strong projects on the table, the capital resources we need will follow."

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