Residents promised a real say in town's 'masterplan'

A MAJOR infrastructure project has begun which will define how Bodmin will grow and be developed over the coming decades.

Bodmin has been identified as one of the fastest growing towns in Cornwall and now a strategy is being devised to cope with an expected boom in population and increased employment opportunities the town hopes to attract.

The Community Masterplan is being drawn up with residents promised a real say in the changes faced by the town, with public consultation events beginning next month.

Cornwall Council has decided to combine work already undertaken by the former district council on regenerating the town centre with an economic framework which already has £10 million of Convergence funding earmarked to create more industrial units and boost job prospects.

£400,000 funding

But the new masterplan goes further, taking in issues like housing, traffic congestion, public transport improvements, the town's drainage system and proposals for new leisure facilities, such as a cinema.

European Regional Development funding worth £400,000 has been secured to help draw up a new town blueprint for the future, with three teams of private planning consultants employed to assist in working up the masterplan.

Cornwall Council senior planning officer Paul Webber, who is helping oversee the project, said it was vital the residents of Bodmin had a say in how they want the town to develop.

"We have held a couple of preliminary meetings at Bodmin Jail with stakeholders and also invited the head teachers of the local schools to attend.

"But in the near future we will be holding a series of events to get the public involved in putting forward their ideas about what they would like to see happening in Bodmin.

"The town is without a cinema for instance, and at the moment it may not be economically feasible for one to open, but in the coming years a few thousand new houses are expected to be built in Bodmin, and a cinema may be feasible then."

He said part of the consultants' brief was to come up with detailed suggestions on how the finalised projects could be funded.

Public consultation events are due to begin next month, and the masterplan is scheduled to be completed by June of next year.

North Cornwall District Council was responsible for drawing up the town centre regeneration blueprint and the strategy for economic growth in Bodmin. One of the last acts of the defunct local authority was to formally adopt the plans in order for Cornwall Council to carry them forward.

The town centre improvement proposals include a multi-story car park at the rear of the Public Rooms and the creation of a new shopping area on the site of Dennison Road car park.