Truro’s New Life for City Buildings Project Completes £1.3m Funding Allocation

Truro’s plan to bring life back into empty upper floors across the city centre has reached a major milestone, with all funding now allocated and work under way on ten separate schemes.

£1.3m Allocated to Transform Empty Spaces

The New Life for City Buildings project has provided almost £1.3 million in grants to schemes converting unused upper floors into new homes and commercial space. Once completed at the end of next year, the work is expected to deliver up to 22 additional residential properties, creating homes for at least 50 people in the heart of the city.

Led by Truro City Council through The Truro Regeneration Company CIC (Regenco), the wider project received £3.3 million of Town Deal funding in 2024 to support the refurbishment, renovation and repurposing of buildings and upper floors. While almost £1.3 million has gone directly to these conversion schemes, the remaining £2 million is ring fenced for buying and regenerating unused buildings.

Regenco has now awarded all available grant funding, supporting ten schemes and unlocking more than £1.8 million of private investment.

First Residents Move In Next Year

Welcoming the final grant award, Rupert Hume Kendall, Chair of Regenco, confirmed that people will be moving into the first completed flats on 1st December 2025.

Rupert said: “Earlier this year we saw the completion of the first scheme to be awarded a New Life for City Buildings grant and the new residents are due to move into the flats created with support from the NLCB on the 1st of December 2025. Now the Board has just awarded the final grant.

“I am delighted by the success of this project and look forward to seeing all 10 schemes completed and people moving into their new homes by the end of next year”.

Truro Mayor Chris Wells welcomed the progress, saying: “I am very proud to be associated with this project. It will help revitalise the heart of the city by boosting the local economy and providing places for people to live and work. It also helps to demonstrate how Truro City Council is taking a proactive approach towards regenerating our City Centre and delivering activity that supports the Economy objectives outlined in our new strategy. We are also leading the way in delivering ‘living over the shop’ accommodation in line with policy EJ2 of the Truro and Kenwyn Neighbourhood Plan”.

The First Scheme: New Bridge Street

The first grant was awarded in November 2024 to the Truro Development Company Ltd, owned by husband and wife Tony and Cynthia Martin. Their empty three storey building in New Bridge Street, formerly a restaurant, was converted using a £147,679.97 grant.

The work created two two bedroom apartments on the upper floors and a high quality commercial unit on the ground floor.

Tony said: “The support we received from the NLCB project and Regenco was invaluable. It not only enabled us to undertake a bigger scheme than we could deliver on our own, but it also ensured we could deliver it to a higher standard, with real attention to quality and finish as well as greatly improved environmental performance”.

Other Schemes Across the City

A further nine grants have been awarded across River Street, King Street, Little Castle Street, Kenwyn Street, Fairmantle Street and Haven House.

24 King Street

The upper floor of this Grade II listed building, owned by Stewart and Wight Ltd, is being turned into a two bedroom duplex flat. The ground floor remains as the So Sweet shop. The scheme received £149,573.50.

Project manager Paul Harrison said: “The grant made the scheme financially viable where previously it would have sadly been dismissed. This would have been an enormous shame as this building has a lovely façade coupled with remarkable views of the Cathedral”.

105 Kenwyn Street (archie browns)

The top floor previously used as a café will become a two bedroom flat, while an outbuilding at the rear will also be converted into a two bedroom apartment. The shop on the ground floor will continue trading. Planning was granted earlier this year, with work beginning in the new year.

Helen Swift, co-director of archie browns, said the £200,000 grant was vital for the long term sustainability of the business.

She said: “As everyone knows this is a very difficult time for high streets. While we managed to find a range of short term tenants for the empty space above the shop and the outbuilding over the past few months, we knew we needed to have a steady income stream to enable the shop to continue.

“We had decided to repurpose the outbuilding into accommodation when I remembered hearing something about grants being available to support the renovation of buildings in the centre of the city. The BID put me in touch with the people leading the NLCB project and our application was successful. This means we can now also turn the former café space into accommodation, providing two flats rather than just one.

“The funding from Truro Town Deal has made a huge difference to our scheme and our lives. As well as providing places for people to live, the income from the flats will help to secure the future of the shop”.

15 River Street

This Grade II listed property, empty and owned by the same family since the early 1960s, will see its two upper floors converted into two self contained flats. The ground floor will remain for commercial use. Work is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

Market Inn

The first floor is being renovated into a one bedroom apartment for the pub’s new tenant. Work begins at the start of December, with the pub aiming to reopen at the end of March.

62 and 63 Fairmantle Street

Chytek Limited received a £119,364.98 grant to convert the empty building into six modern apartments and restore the façade to reflect its original appearance as two cottages.

Phillipa Lusty said: “This scheme is especially close to our hearts. Situated on a busy street in the centre of the city, this property had been empty for a number of years and was sitting alone amid a row of terraced cottages looking very tired and unkempt. Our vision was to bring it back to life, converting the building into six modern apartments while restoring its frontage to its original design, recreating the charm of two traditional cottages.

“While it has been a really fun and exciting scheme, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Along the way, we’ve faced all sorts of unexpected challenges, but thanks to the incredible support of local professionals, construction teams, and tradespeople, we’ve managed to keep pushing forward. We’re finally nearing the finish line, and we couldn’t be prouder of what’s been achieved together.

“Our hope is that our work will continue to contribute to making a positive difference in our community. Looking ahead we plan to grow our business and explore new ways to tackle homelessness and improve housing affordability for local families”.

Additional Grants

Funding has also gone to:
• 57A Little Castle Street
• 10 Frances Street
• The Green at Haven House

Major Property Acquisition: 15 and 16 King Street

Earlier this year, 15 and 16 King Street, formerly Top Shop, became the first building purchased directly by Regenco.

Plans are being developed to refurbish the upper three floors into residential accommodation or potentially offices, depending on demand. The ground floor will continue to be leased to its current tenants.

Rupert said: “Converting the upper floors of this prominent building in the centre of the city into a place where people can live and work will play a key role in boosting the economy of Truro at the same time as providing much needed residential accommodation.

“This scheme also represents an exciting investment opportunity that will not only secure the future of this key building in the centre of the city and provide new high quality homes for local people, but will also produce ongoing revenue which can then be used to help regenerate other properties in the city”.