'Bear with us' say town bosses as works begin

Plans for the town aim to reduce traffic by 70%

Penzance will spend some of the £21.5m awarded from central government on changing Market Jew Street with works starting in July.

Penzance Town Fund (PTF) said it aimed to improve accessibility for pedestrians, people with reduced mobility, cyclists and public transport.

Other investments would include a climbing centre in a former supermarket and a street food hall in the town's historic Market House, it said.

The PTF boss said some people had complained "because everyone romanticises the past" and asked residents to "bear with us" while the changes were made.

Sarah Shaw is the BID manager and works with Penzance Town Fund

'People hate change'

Business owner and Business Improvement District (BID) manager Sarah Shaw works with the Penzance Town Fund and she said: "The ultimate goal is to have a user friendly, highly populated, busy thriving town of Penzance.

"There's certainly plenty of people grumbling about it but in fact Penzance has always been quite hostile to pedestrians.

"I think people romanticise the past - 'the old days were always better, the town was busier and we all took more money'.

"I think people hate change but we ask them to bear with us."

Morgan Lewis works in an e-bike business in Penzance and hopes the move will help to fill empty shops in the town

Following a trial period the banning of cars in the town between 11:00 and 16:00 has been made permanent.

Morgan Lewis who works at Ride on E-Bikes in the centre of the town said: "Local Facebook groups have plenty of moaning about it, but there will always be lovers and haters.

"We need to reinforce pedestrianisation and calm the traffic coming up and down Market Jew Street.

"I think it will help fill the empty shops with new businesses and bring more people into Penzance."

There are three different projects to transform the town planned to take place between July this year through to early 2026 and these will be combined with upgrades to the gas pipework.

Wales and West Utilities programme controller Abby Smith said: "We know that working in areas like this is not ideal, which is why we're working collaboratively to agree the best way to get this important work done while causing the least disruption to the community."