Local community invited to find out more about highways works in Penzance at drop-in session on 18 June

Local community invited to find out more about highways works in Penzance at drop-in session on 18 June

Wednesday, 18 June 8am to 6pm St John’s Hall

ALL WELCOME

10 June 2025

A community drop-in session is being held at St John’s Hall in Penzance between 8am and 6pm on Wednesday, 18 June to enable local residents and businesses to find out more about the plans to improve Market Jew Street and the wider programme to upgrade gas pipes across the town.

The improvements in Market Jew Street are part of the Penzance Town Deal Sustainable Travel Network project and are designed to make the centre of Penzance a safer and more attractive and welcoming place for pedestrians and cyclists. Works are currently due to begin on 21 July and to last for up to 19 weeks.

The Market Jew Street scheme, which will be carried out by Cormac, was developed following extensive engagement with the local community. The aim is to reinforce the pedestrian zone by creating a more effective gateway and improve accessibility for pedestrians, people with reduced mobility, cyclists and public transport. The overall streetscape and planting will also be enhanced to attract more people into the centre of the town.

In order to ensure the safety of members of the public and the teams working on the scheme, Market Jew Street will be closed to traffic along its entire length between 7.30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday from 21 July to 28 November. A road closure will also be in place at Market Place from 20 October to the end of November.

Both roads will be open to traffic as normal during the evenings and at weekends.

Access for emergency vehicles and pedestrians will be maintained at all times.

As well as the improvements at Market Jew Street , a number of other highways schemes are due to be delivered as part of the Sustainable Travel Network project over the same period.

These include :

Works on bus station and Branwells Gyratory – due to begin Sept 2025
Ponsandane Cycle Hub scheme– due to begin Sept 2025
Market Place scheme – due to begin Sept 2025

As well as the planned works on Market Jew Street, Wales & West Utilities’ programme to upgrade the gas pipes also involves projects in different parts of the town between July and December, some of which will require road closures.

These include :

St Clare Street between 24 July and 19 September
Station Road from 22 September to 20 October
Market Place 20 October to 1 December

As well as providing details of the various schemes, the drop-in session, organised jointly by Cormac and Wales & West Utilities, will provide information on the traffic management arrangements which will be put in place to support the works.

Representatives from Cormac, the Sustainable Travel Network project and Wales & West Utilities will be on hand throughout the day to provide information and answer any queries.

We recognise that the works and traffic restrictions on Market Jew Street and other areas of the town over the coming months will impact those living or operating businesses in the area and will be monitoring the situation closely to minimise disruption and keep delays to a minimum.

The Sustainable Travel Network project team have been working closely with Penzance Council and Penzance BID to develop co-ordinated plans to ensure that Penzance remains open for business during the works and that residents and visitors can continue to access the places they want to go.

While Market Jew Street will be closed to traffic during the daytime on week days, it will re-open to vehicles after 5pm in the evenings and will be operating as normal at weekends. The team have also worked hard to ensure that the scheme will be completed by the end of November so it will not affect any Christmas activities planned for the town.

During the road closures clearly marked signage and diversion routes will be in place and the highways team are supporting businesses in planning alternative delivery times and routes. It is essential that deliveries can still be made to the retailers affected and we will be working closely with the businesses to ensure that this happens.

Bus stops on Market Jew Street will also be suspended for the duration of the works. Bus companies have been informed of the plans and have an approved diversion route in place.

Anyone with queries or concerns about the works can call 0300 1234 222 or email Cormac at contracting@cormacltd.co.uk.

Penzance Sustainable Transport Network has received £3.5 million from the government’s Town Deal programme and £3 million from Cornwall Council. Penzance Town Deal Board, in partnership with Cornwall Council, successfully bid for a Town Deal worth £21.5 million to support a range of projects that will contribute to the town’s regeneration and boost the local economy.

Ends

About the UK Government Town Deals programme

The Town Deals programme aims to regenerate towns and deliver long-term economic and productivity growth. This is through investments in urban regeneration, digital and physical connectivity, skills, heritage and enterprise infrastructure. As of July 2021, DLUHC (now MHCLG) had offered Town Deals to all 101 places that submitted proposals, committing over £2.35bn of investment across c.700 projects nationwide. See the press releases associated with Town Deals on gov.uk.

Cornwall is the only area invited by the Government to submit proposals for four of its towns: Camborne, Penzance, St Ives and Truro. After conducting extensive public consultations, each Town Deal Board submitted their Town Investment Plan in collaboration with Cornwall Council. As a result, the Government announced in spring 2021, that Cornwall will receive up to £88.7 million from the Town Deals programme.

Cornwall Council is the Lead Authority for the Town Deals in Cornwall. Cornwall Council supports the governance role of Penzance Town Deal Board and is responsible for administering the Fund on behalf of the Board.

For more information visit: www.cornwall.gov.uk/business-trading-and-licences/economic-development/towns-fund

About Penzance Town Deal

In 2021 Penzance Town Deal Board, in partnership with Cornwall Council, successfully bid for a Town Deal worth £21.9 million to support a range of projects that will contribute to the town’s regeneration and boost the local economy. The Sustainable Travel Network project has been awarded £6.1 million from the Penzance Town Deal programme.