St Ives fish shop and store 'really good news'

A new £50,0000 fish facility in St Ives will allow fishermen to sell direct to the public

A new fish shop set to be built on the quay in St Ives will enable fishermen to sell direct to the public.

The £50,000 project will also allow them to store bait overnight, thanks to the upgrade of a refrigerated storage area.

The facility will be built after securing funding out of the £500,000 allocated to the town as part of the government's Accelerated Towns Fund.

Fisherman Nathan de Rozarieux said the project was "really good news".

Mr de Rozarieux, who is the secretary of the St Ives Fishermen's Association, said the fishing community had engaged with the St Ives Town Deal Board on a wish list of things that would benefit the industry and the Smeaton's Pier project was identified as a priority.

Nathan de Rozarieux said a direct selling counter was "something that had been missing" in the town

"It is something that has been missing," he said, adding that selling to the public might start relatively small but could grown into "something quite big".

Cornwall Council said it was estimated the project would bring an uplift of £10,000 in direct sales in the first year, with an added £10,000 per year through online sales.

It will also mean fewer trips to drive the landed catch to Newlyn, saving an estimated £8,000 per annum.

Sarah Stevens, chairwoman of the St Ives Town Deal Board, said: "I am proud to have supported the fishermen with their plans to sell fish directly from the quay and to improve the facilities.

"It will make their lives easier and have a positive impact on the environment."

Alongside Camborne, Penzance and Truro, St Ives was one of the 100 towns selected across England to receive accelerated funding from the UK Government's Town Fund.

Money from the Towns Fund is aimed at "places with proud industrial and economic heritage" but which have not "always benefitted from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas", the government has said.

St Ives' Smeatons Pier fish landing and selling facility project will be managed by the town's harbourmaster and is due to be completed by 31 March.

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