HELSTON's empty business park, owned by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA), would be the "perfect" site for a new multi-purpose sports centre for the town.

This is according to Cornwall Councillor Andrew Wallis, who has been exploring ways to get the town a new sports facility, which would replace the existing centre – owned by Cornwall Council – in Church Hill.

The land at Helston's Business Park has sat empty for more than two years after SWRDA spent £2.6 million on the project. It was designed to bring high-profile businesses into Helston with eco-friendly buildings, built to environmental excellence standards, meaning the impact of the buildings will be minimal.

However, since the completion of the project, SWRDA has yet to find buyers for any of the nine plots and has come under fire from residents, many claiming it is a "waste of money", with others now dubbing the new road through the land as "the road to nowhere".

Money was spent on preparing the land with services such as water and power, but are yet to be built on.

Inspired

"I mentioned the idea of having a new sports facility at the last community network meeting and the idea has really inspired people.

"I have loads of people from Helston, Porthleven and The Lizard saying what a good idea it would be because the facilities are limited at Helston," said Cllr Wallis.

"What I would be looking to create would be a multi-use area that can be used by all the clubs we have in the town. We have martial arts clubs, dance groups and the Swallows of Helston Gymnastic Club. All of them are great, but could do with a new facility to train in."

Mr Wallis was keen to stress that this idea was just that, an idea, and that he had not put it to Cornwall Council yet, or SWDRA.

"I came up with the idea and got asked lots of questions about it, so I thought I could make some initial enquiries about it. It is still very possible that the land at the business park couldn't be used for that type of project because it does have restrictions on it, but it is worth asking," he said.

He said funding for a project like this could be available from a variety of sources, but he had not looked in to specific grants for the scheme.

A letter was said to have been sent to the SWRDA this week, a spokesman said there was still significant interest in Helston and talks were ongoing.