St Austell town centre improvement plans could cost £58m

St Austell Town Council said plans included ideas such as new student accommodation and demolishing parts of its town centre

New plans to revitalise St Austell town centre at a cost of more than £58m have been revealed.

The St Austell Town Revitalisation Partnership (SATRP) was commissioned by St Austell Town Council in 2022 to boost the centre with new projects.

The council said plans included building new student accommodation and demolishing parts of its town centre.

Proposals also include a rooftop garden to be built on a former car park above Old Vicarage Place.

It said: "The location is sited within a dramatic location amongst the rooftops, with views to the church and the landscape beyond. It presents potential for links to health, wellbeing, community groups and social prescribing."

The "revitalisation masterplan" includes knocking down and rebuilding he Poundland building

The 25 projects also include demolishing and rebuilding the Poundland building in Fore Street and the possible demolition of the Dorothy Perkins store to make way for a "new, improved route from Priory Car Park into the main street".

Project prices ranged from £234,720 to £11.5 million, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reported.

Sandra Heyward, chair of SATRP, said she believed the projects were "viable".

She said: "This plan is definitely not an off-the-peg, one-size-fits-all plan which has happened so many times in the past.

"It has been well thought out and is the result of hours of consultation with the public, stakeholders, Town Council and Cornwall Council and is ready for activation."

SATRP submitted bids to Cornwall Council for funding for some of the projects, and hopes to secure "larger" funding from the government in the coming months.