Pedestrianising Boscawen Street raised as council leader tours Truro

Ask anyone trying to run a shop in the middle of Truro what keeps them up at night and parking will come up fast. Last week, the people who hold the purse strings came to hear it in person.

Truro BID Manager Alun Jones walked the city centre with Cornwall Council Leader Cllr Leigh Frost and local councillors Rob Nolan and Steven Webb. Parking capacity, public transport, roadworks, anti-social behaviour and commercial waste were all on the list.

Who they met

Along the way, Cllr Frost met the Truro Rangers, who are funded by Truro BID, and the city’s Anti-Social Behaviour Officer, a post funded jointly by Truro BID, Truro City Council and Cornwall Council.

Independent business owners Simon Hendra, Olly Trevail and Kristian Fleming also joined the conversation.

The parking problem

Truro BID says the big fixes are needed as soon as possible. That means replacing or refurbishing car parks, or providing temporary parking. But the costs involved are considerable, so those projects remain a work in progress and will take time.

In the meantime, the BID believes other options have to be explored. The aim is to cut commuter parking, freeing up car park spaces for customers, and to stop the misuse of time-limited on-street spaces.

Park and Ride and Boscawen Street

Two ideas came up. One was making the Truro Park and Ride more practical for commuters.

The other was pedestrianising Boscawen Street. According to Truro BID, that would make it easier to hold more events in the street, as there would no longer be the cost of security staff to manage road closures.

Anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour was discussed in detail. And Cllr Frost saw the issue up close, watching the Truro Rangers respond to live incidents during the visit.

Business rates

One local business owner raised inconsistencies in business rates, with some streets seeing reductions while others face increases.

It was noted that business rates are set by the Government’s Valuation Office, not Cornwall Council.

📷The city-centre walkabout in Truro. Credit: Truro BID