St Ives Introduces Revolutionary Eco-Friendly Street Decorations

St Ives has unveiled a cutting-edge solution for street decorations, marking the first installation of its kind in Cornwall.

Part of the Sustainable St Ives project, these eco-friendly enhancements aim to bring vibrant colour and volume to the town while addressing environmental concerns.

Innovative 3D Printed Decorations

Royal Square is now adorned with unique decorations produced through an innovative 3D printing process. These e-deco collections are crafted in small workshops in France, utilising a robot that creates finely-detailed, luminous decors with up to three successive layers of translucent material. This technology is currently unavailable in the UK, and the French company behind it boasts impressive credentials in sourcing and recycling materials. Additionally, the logistics of shipping from France are more efficient than from many parts of the UK.

Leblanc Illuminations, known for supplying much of St Ives’ Christmas lighting, plays a key role in this project. Their commitment to environmental challenges aligns with the town’s ambitions for ecological transition, offering decorations made from biosourced, recycled, and recyclable materials. Not only are these decorations crafted from recycled materials, but they can also be recycled again after use.

Why Not Bunting?

In the past two years, St Ives has experimented with two types of biodegradable bunting, both of which failed to withstand the town’s weather conditions. Seeking a more durable alternative, the town has turned to e-deco for its potential to create sustainable structures that can be suspended overhead, much like Christmas lights.

This year marks the first trial of the e-deco decorations in Royal Square, chosen for its large space and strategic location. This area, a common drop-off point for cruise ship visitors, has not benefited from the same visitor engagement as Fore Street and the Wharf, and increasing shop vacancy rates have negatively impacted local businesses. Additionally, a few decorations have been trialled at the corner of St Andrews Street and Street-an-Pol to evaluate their effectiveness as individual structures.

If successful, these decorations will replace bunting in other areas next year. Meanwhile, increased planting and new lamp post banners have been installed as part of the trial.

Additional Street Enhancements

In addition to the e-deco decorations, the town has introduced several other enhancements:

• Royal Square: Cormac has been commissioned to repaint the worn-out lamp posts, and additional summer planting has been added to these posts.
• Fore Street: New planters and summer planting have been installed outside the galleries and Rolys to deter long-term van parking on the pavement. Additional planting has been added to Zion Church railings and a new planter in Cyril Noall Square.
• Lamp Post Banners: Large banners have been installed along the Wharf and the Terrace.
• The Terrace: Further summer planting and plantscape units have been added.
• Tesco Roundabout: Additional summer planting and plantscape units have been introduced.

These measures are part of a broader effort to enhance the aesthetic appeal of St Ives while promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility. As the trial progresses, the town will assess the durability and impact of the e-deco decorations, potentially setting a new standard for eco-friendly street embellishments in Cornwall.