A critical year

The Editor
The West Briton
Malpas Road
Truro
Kernow

2nd January 2005

Dear Sir,

2005 is a critical year for Truro. It needs to determine how it develops, and how it will fare in relation to other Cornish towns. We can’t go on like this!

Truro is not a shopping mall. Its economy is that of a successful town – a complex mix of professional, personal and commercial services. This mix provides incomes for thousands of people, many of whom commute daily. The incomes generated by these services provide the disposable funds which sustain Truro’s shopping centre.

The overall economy is a delicate ecology of mutually supportive interests and activities.

Access and environmental quality are fundamental to Truro’s future competitiveness and success. So, too, is the need to maintain a good balance between office-based activity and shopping. During 2004 we saw about 250 office jobs disappear from the town centre, taking with them significant spending power. This has affected turnover in a number of town centre businesses.

It is therefore worrying that discussion about appropriate proposals to construct high-quality, modern office space on the Fairmantle Street site appears so difficult. It was even more worrying that the outlandish Pydar Street proposals (expanding shopping floor space by nearly 50%) included no new office provision. We saw no requirement for offices in the Lemon Quay development, even though that was the cause of the relocation of most of the 250 jobs out of town.

A further cause for concern is that ever-advancing technology will lead to major bureaucracies like the County Council and N.H.S. dispersing their activities. We should not be critical of this, as it is likely to lead to significant improvement in public service and reduce the environmental impact of these major organisations. However, Truro should prepare to compensate for the loss of a major economic ‘comfort cushion’.

It is vital that we ensure that future plans for Truro enable the development of the whole economy, and not just one sector.

Truro will not develop if it cannot work out what to do about transport. Pedestrianisation might make shopping pleasant but it will not support commerce, services or professions. Access is vital. Shutting out vehicles which enable professionals to do their work effectively will force those activities out of the town. We can already see evidence of such a trend emerging, and must act to stem the trickle before it becomes a torrent. What will happen in Lemon street if (or when) the surgeries relocate?

Visitors, whom Truro welcomes in increasing numbers, and for whom we do little in terms of public service provision to properly cater, need to be able to move freely into and out of the town. The coach-park to the rear of Marks and Spencer must have toilets, shelter, information and a telephone.

Residents need to feel safe and be able to have reasonable access to their homes. They also need to be able to breathe clean air, to enjoy good services and recreational facilities, and to feel that they are the core of their town – they need to feel valued and to celebrate their festivals and heritage; and to enjoy a reasonable night’s sleep!

Urgently, Truro needs to address three key issues in terms of transport.

Rail-based park & ride

Truro should develop a long-term plan to use the railways as the link between park and ride and the town centre (with stops and links for Truro College, Treliske, industrial estates as necessary). The Probus-Burngullow project, together with the Falmouth Branch development (in the Objective 1 pipeline) offer new opportunities. Studies are already underway, but strategies and plans are still focusing on short-term, unsustainable ideas. Pressure is mounting. If we are to reduce the impact of commuting upon the environment then park & ride must offer cost-effective and efficient gains. Using trains will reduce journeys by significant amounts, reduce costs to travellers and achieve locally significant improvements in emissions, whilst also sustaining and investing in the economy of the town.

Cornwall Airport

Truro needs to understand the growing usefulness of Newquay airport, and to support the County Council in persuading the Ministry of Defence to ensure the continuation of operations, and the scope for future development. This is a difficult issue because the environmental impacts of air transport are significant, and it is vital that we develop sensitively. Judgements will need to be carefully weighed, but the air-link will become increasingly important as Cornwall develops new markets and partnerships in the expanded European Union. Such development will be led by the commercial and professional sectors for which Truro is a catalyst.

The Port of Truro

Truro needs to support its port. As we see the mainstay of the port (Cornish Calcified Seaweed) regulated out of business, it is vital that we develop our vision of Truro as Cornwall’s ‘Gateway to Europe’. It must be allowed to develop as a business, and it must be able to build on its infrastructural links to its catchment area, and to develop its potential for handling complex cargoes.

If we are to see Truro’s catchment area prosper then the facility of the port of Truro is vital, long-term investment. Water transport will become increasingly important over the next generation in moving goods and people. Truro is central, inland, cargo-friendly and well-connected to infrastructure.

Equally, Truro must turn its attention to how it is perceived by customers, visitors, residents and business.

Marketing & Branding

In recent times negative impressions, mainly associated with access, have badly affected trading conditions and community relationships. A town which, not so long ago, was renowned for its friendly, efficient service, pleasant environment, accessibility and compactness is now increasingly viewed as ‘difficult to get into, out of, or to stop in’.

We have achieved many positive things in Truro – not least the establishment of a successful Farmers’ Market. Family businesses thrive (and show signs of growing) in the Town Centre despite the commercial power of multiples. The Hall for Cornwall has become a catalyst for a new focus on cultural activity and production. Truro is strongly orientated towards the family, and perhaps that should provide the basis of our promotional work.

The community of Truro – whilst still vibrant and robust - is under pressure – hardship is often obscured; the air quality is often poor; vandalism (despite C.C.T.V.) is depressing; housing is scarce and its cost a mounting discrimination. The perceptions of residents have also shifted, and we begin to see evidence of people moving out of Truro because they no longer want to live here. This is a very dangerous trend.

Branding is not simply a matter of plugging a message in the hope that repetition will make ‘target audiences’ believe it. It is about saying you are good because, when you examine the product, you find that it is actually good. If Truro is to reshape the way people perceive it then we need to reshape our approach to key issues. We need to be smart, positive, and above all, genuine.

Contemplating the future

There is a serious question in many peoples’ minds about whether physical growth of Truro is a sign of success or failure. If such growth worsens congestion, reduces household incomes, prices local people out of houses, encourages poor neighbourhood relations – then is it a good thing? Does physical growth of a town mean that it is growing economically – in other words that the whole economy is growing, and that people’s lives are improving, and that the environment is cleaner and more sustainable? How should we measure success? Indeed, how do we measure Truro’s performance?

If Truro is to continue to prosper for the next two generations then it is vital that the community engages in a serious debate about how to shape the future development of the town. This should not be simply a discussion about traffic or planning applications – it must be about values – how does Truro wish to contribute to combating global warming? How do we want generations to inter-relate and neighbourhoods to evolve? What should Truro’s relationship be with neighbouring Cornish towns? What perceptions do we want our visitors, customers, investors and young people to have about Truro?

The community of Truro grappled with such issues in the 1950s and 60s. they bu8ilt the Truro we know today. It was a dynamic process. Truro’s challenge now is to address the problems of success and to shape the town for the future. If we sidestep this challenge then the quality, beauty, friendliness, accessibility and variety of Truro will ebb away. Worst of all, the town will be poked and prodded like a lump of urban plasticene by distant (i.e. Taunton, Bristol e.t.c.) bureaucrats desperate to force Truro and Cornwall to conform to models and patterns which are false and unsuited to our environment, economy or society.

Yours sincerely,
Bert Biscoe