St Austell Townscape Heritage Scheme

St Austell Townscape Heritage Scheme

A Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan was produced in March 2013 which highlighted the need for further investment in the town. 

The Management Plan Action recommended:

‘The Preparation of a Townscape Heritage Initiative Scheme for restoration and repair of historic fabric of historic building, shop fronts and signage in Fore Street, High Cross Street, Duke Street, Truro Road and Victoria Place’.

A number of high and medium Management Plan Actions identified in the Appraisal could be addressed by a Townscape Heritage application including:

  1. Provide new shop front design and technical conservation guidance.
  2. Maintain photographic record of Conservation Area.
  3. Bring into beneficial use under-utilised and empty historic buildings.
  4. Develop heritage attractions and events to increase visitor numbers to the town.
  5. Improve awareness and understanding of the Conservation Area including measures for greater community involvement.
  6. Develop a community focus within the Market House.
  7. Develop local skills training in repair/maintenance/green technology relating to historic buildings.
  8. Work with occupiers and owners of commercial listed buildings and other heritage assets to ensure that the buildings continue to provide accommodation needed to adapt to future employment demands and ensure the continuing occupation of historic buildings for viable uses.

Buildings in the town centre are a mixture of good quality historical buildings in various states of disrepair with insertions of poor quality modern buildings, often with blank facades and unsympathetic shop fronts, shutters and signage. Key gap sites remain undeveloped and there are obvious areas of the public realm that need improvement.

A joint meeting and tour of the town took place on 27th June 2013 with Richard Bellamy of Heritage Lottery Fund, representatives of the Market House CIC, Cornwall Council officers and Town Clerk where encouragement was given for an application for a Townscape Heritage Scheme. A funding application for repairs and renovation of the Grade II* listed Market House was also discussed. (It was agreed that the Market House could be a target building for both a Townscape Heritage application as well as a separate Heritage Lottery funding application).

The proposed Townscape Heritage area essentially concentrates on the original town centre Conservation Area but includes key peripheral sites containing numerous listed and unlisted historic buildings on main public access areas. 

Following an assessment of the town it was felt that a Townscape Heritage scheme could look at addressing the following key issues:

  1. Carry out quality traditional repairs to key buildings in the central area of the town in particular the areas around Truro Road, Fore Street, High Cross Street, Duke Street, Victoria Place, Church Street, Market Street, Cross Lane, the railway station and Globe Yard.
  2. Progress a scheme to restore missing architectural detail to the Market House and undertake external repairs
  3. Provide enhancements to key buildings and public realm enhancements along the industrial river valley.
  4. Fund repairs to key buildings designed by local Victorian Architect Silvanus Trevail.
  5. Bring back into use upper storeys of underused and empty central properties.
  6. Continue the momentum of skills training and energy saving initiatives as carried out in Camborne, Roskear, Tuckingmill.  Training in sustainable skills (including clay plaster produced using local china clay) for use on new buildings and extensions to historic buildings could be progressed to complement the Clay Country Eco-Community proposals.
  7. Fund sympathetic energy saving measures to key target buildings.
  8. Build on the success of the existing mural and other artistic sculptures in the town by progressing a series of murals on the blank facades of central modern buildings to encourage visitors.
  9. Fund public realm works at key locations including Truro Road, the corner of Truro Road/Bodmin Rd, Biddicks Court, the historic fountain on Church Street and Duke Street/Vicarage Place.
  10. Investigate infill opportunities at key gap sites at High Cross St, Cross Lane, Moorland Rd and North Street Car Park.

Cornwall Council has recently agreed to support the completion of the current Camborne THI as well as providing support for a TH application for St Austell. Cornwall Council also adopted the Historic Environment White Paper in December 2012 which contains proposals for heritage led regeneration schemes.

If a Stage One application was successful it is envisaged a Stage Two application would be submitted before October 2015 with a view to a scheme starting in August 2016 and finishing in July 2020.

 St Austell Town Council has committed £4,720 to progress a Stage One application, a further £6,500 towards Stage 2 if successful in the first round and £25,000 towards the common fund. Additional match funding could be sourced from St Austell BID which is up and running (April 2013-18) which has an identified project to: 

‘Encourage the development of a Townscape Heritage Initiative to raise funding for key historic buildings within the BID area: http://staustellbid.co.uk/bid-benefits-documents/.'

Further funding opportunities exist through the EU growth programme (2014-2020) for Cornwall and Isles of Scilly for employment generating uses, community uses (Market House) and traditional and sustainable skills training. Section 106 money from recent planning permissions, or future planning schemes  provides another possible option. 

The Chamber has writen to the Town Council in support of this scheme. If members would like to find out more please contact:

David Pooley
Town Clerk
St Austell Town Council
Tel: 01726 223327
Fax: 01726 223301
Email: dpooley@staustelltc.cornwall.gov.uk
Room 231, St Austell One Stop Shop, 39 Penwinnick Road, St Austell, PL25 5DR

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