Empty retail space project to make city 'vibrant'

Rupert Hume-Kendall said project bosses wanted to satisfy the demand for housing in Truro

A project to convert empty space above shops would help make the centre of Truro more vibrant, its city council has said.

About £3.2m is being allocated for the scheme, which has come out of the £23.6m Truro received via the government's Towns Fund.

Grants have been distributed to help owners re-purpose properties - with the first one due to be completed by the end of August.

The council also revealed it had also purchased a building itself which it would do-up to provide new accommodation.

Rupert Hume-Kendall, chair of the Truro Regeneration Company, said more than £1m had been spent on buying the former Topshop premises on King Street.

He said: "We've got 16,500 sq ft [1,530 sq m] of developable space that is currently derelict and completely unused. We can then redevelop for what people want it to be."

Truro City Council said it would convert the former Topshop building into accommodation

The Truro Town Deal Board said it estimated there was currently about 25,000 sq m (270,000 sq ft) of unused space above shops.

David Rodda, clerk of Truro City Council, said: "The majority of properties within Truro - if you look above the shop floor - the top two or three floors are vacant, so would be would be suitable for this type of activity."

He said he hoped the project would provide up to 20 new residential units around the city centre in total and make it more vibrant.

He said: "If people are living here, their friends will be coming to visit; hopefully they'll be out and helping the night-time economy and there'll be people working in the centre of the city and using the shops.

"There's also the housing issue that we have in Cornwall as well and it will also contribute to providing more housing space."

David Rodda said the project would provide about 20 new apartments in the city

Phil Norgan, from Smart Estate Agent in Penryn, welcomed the initiative and said he believed regenerating former retail space could "go a long way" to help tackle the area's housing crisis.

He said: "We're an island - we don't have a finite amount of land to give up, but we do have an awful lot of empty buildings.

"You've got the utilities, you've got the infrastructure, invariably they are within an existing community; and the cost of repurposing a building is way less than having to build one.

"You haven't got to buy the land, you haven't got to use new materials. What we're doing here in Truro is a tiny drop in the ocean compared to what could be achieved."