St Ives Town Deal Low Carbon Transport

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More than 400 people attended the recent St Ives Low Carbon Transport Strategy update event to find out the latest details about all the projects which are being developed and the timetable for delivering the different elements.

You can view a video about the update event here :

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One of the nine Town Deal projects being funded and delivered as part of the St Ives Town Deal programme, the aim of the Low Carbon Transport Strategy is to help reduce the impact of vehicles on St Ives and introduce measures that encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport.

The Strategy, which has been allocated £5.5 million of Town Deal funding, includes proposals aimed at reducing traffic congestion and parking demand in the town centre, enhancing public transport options and accessibility, improving air quality and health outcomes for residents and visitors, and supporting local businesses by creating a more attractive and vibrant town.

The individual projects which make up the Strategy are being delivered in phases, with local statutory consultation taking place ahead of the plans being implemented.

Work on the first phase is due to begin later this year. This includes the installation of a new Variable Message Sign on the A30 and around St Ives to help manage traffic flow into the town centre. Currently installation is due to commence by the end of this year, these signs will advise drivers of the most efficient journey and parking before they enter the town. As well as providing real time information on car park availability, the signs will encourage drivers to use St Erth P&R. Work is currently taking place to identify locations for all of the new signs.

Smart traffic cameras are also being introduced throughout the town to provide real time information on the quantity and types of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists entering the town centre. Due to be installed in 10 to 12 sites over the next three months, these cameras will be used to help the project team monitor the effectiveness and benefits of all the changes resulting from the implementation of the strategy. The data will also be used to identify where additional measures might be required in the future to help support or improve the traffic environment and wider traffic management.

Other projects which will be implemented include improvements to the junctions at Malakoff, Lower Stennack, Zennor and the Terrace aimed at improving traffic flow within the town and enhancing bus and train user experience, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and achieving greater speed compliance.

Work on improvements to the junctions at Zennor and Terrace are currently expected to begin in January 2025, with the schemes at Malakoff, which will include realigning the bus stop with provision of a bus shelter and information point, enhancing the gardens and providing additional seating, and Lower Stennack due to begin in September 2025.

This phase also includes potential changes to the layout and operation of some of the car parks in the town with the aim of reducing the number of visitors driving through the town centre.

A review of permit and visitor parking arrangements is currently being carried out which may present opportunities to operate the Island as a permit only car park. As well as reducing the impact of visitor traffic through the harbour area, this change would provide additional permits for residents and businesses.

To off-set this loss of visitor parking, the project team are also reviewing the possibility of transferring some of the existing permit allocation from Barnoon to the Island. While there is overall support for the principle of reducing visitor traffic in the town centre, following concerns from existing permit holders at Baroon, additional work is taking place to investigate the potential for changing the current layout of the car park to provide additional spaces. No decisions have yet been made, with further engagement due to take place with permit holders over the coming months.

Further work is also taking place to identify measures to mitigate the potential impact of additional traffic on the local community in Halsetown following concerns about the potential increase of more holiday and day visitor traffic into St Ives along the old coach road .These include the introduction of ‘village gateways’ to signal the entry into a slower-paced area, the installation of Vehicle Activated Speed Signs (VAS) to alert drivers and encourage safer speeds and other speed reducing measures. Other interventions include potential virtual footways and surfacing to enhance pedestrian safety and the installation of a new proposed bus stop to better serve the community.

Once detailed topographical and utility surveys and road safety audits have been carried and potential costings identified for the proposed measures, further engagement will take place with the local community to confirm the final programme. It is currently hoped to start work on implementing the agreed measures after the Zennor junction scheme has been completed in early to mid 2025.

The second phase of the Strategy, which includes the creation of a Low Traffic Environment and related improvements at Library Corner and Royal Square, are currently due to be implemented in late 2025 / early 2026.

The aim of the LTE is to reduce unnecessary vehicles from traveling along Wharf Road and Fore Street. Following the public consultation in 2023 and the decision not to use physical restrictions / barriers to prevent access to the town centre i, this will now be achieved through the use of signed restrictions only preventing unnecessary traffic from driving into the town centre during peak times through the summer season. Local residents and businesses will not be affected by the restrictions. Improvements will also be made to the streetscape and public realm to discourage visitors from driving into the town centre and improve safety for pedestrians.

Other changes being made as part of the LTE include upgrading Royal Square, a key arrival point in the town, to make it more welcoming. These plans are still being developed but are expected to include providing designated zones and spaces for buses, loading and taxis, creating a new distinctive gateway to the town, installing bike storage facilities and providing continuous footways to improve safety for pedestrians.

The final project involves improving the management of traffic at Tregenna Hill and Library Corner. The current two -way layout results in numerous daily conflicts between vehicles entering and leaving the town via this route and between vehicles and pedestrians, causing significant congestion and delays. Previous consultations have identified this as one of the main areas of concern for the local community.

Following concerns over the impact of the original proposal for a one-way traffic system on bus and emergency services (including lifeboat crews), further work is being carried out on the design. A potential solution which would maintain the proposed one-way system and provide access for bus and emergency services through traffic lights at the top and bottom of the hill and the use of additional technology, has been identified.

However, the complexity of this area means that more work is needed to ensure that the change would improve the current situation and not create additional problems elsewhere on the local road network. This will require the monitoring and evaluation of the other measures contained in the Strategy before confirming and implementing a final design. This means that this project is not likely to take place before early 2027. As the Town Deal funding currently has to be spent before the end of March 2026, Cornwall Council has committed to providing the funding needed to deliver the scheme, if approved by the Highways Authority.

Local statutory consultation will be required before work starts on each of the individual projects. Regular updates will be provided on the St Ives Transport Strategy page on the Let’s Talk Cornwall site : https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/st-ives-town-deal-low-carbon-transport.

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You can watch a short video about the strategy here

The Town Deal funding has to be spent by March 2026, with the projects due to be delivered in phases over this period. Any longer-term measures will need to be funded from other sources.

The Highway Authority’s recommendation not to use physical measures such as rising bollards and barriers to restrict access to the town centre in peak seasonal periods followed an assessment of the complex technical challenges and management arrangements of installing and operating such a system in St Ives. There were also concerns from some local residents over the potential impact of the proposal. This recommendation was previously supported by the transport working group and St Ives Town Council.

Work on implementing the Low Traffic Environment is due to take place in 2025. Regulations restricting access for people without legitimate reasons from driving into the town centre during peak periods in the summer remain a key element of the scheme. However, the decision by the Town Deal Board to remove the use of physical restrictions means that the project team will work even more closely with local residents and businesses over the next few months to identify alternative methods of achieving the desired outcome.

As well as the use of clear and visible signage at key points, additional measures, including widening footways, enhancing crossings points, providing additional seating, and managing obstructive parking, will be used to make the town centre safer and more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists. There will also be improvements to public transport and other traffic management changes around the town. Access to those who need to enter will be maintained throughout.

Permanent traffic cameras are being installed throughout the town to provide information and robust live data on the levels and types of vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists entering the town centre. This information will be used to help the project team monitor the effectiveness and benefits of all the changes resulting from the implementation of the strategy. The data will also be used to identify where additional measures might be required in the future to help support or improve the LTE and wider traffic management.

Members of the Town Deal Board also agreed to allocate funding to support the installation of a new Variable Messaging Sign on the A30. The sign, which will be sited in advance of the St Erth roundabout, will provide up to date information on parking availability within the town and help to raise public awareness of the Park and Ride facility, with the aim of reducing the number of visitors entering the town centre in search of parking when none is available.

A recommendation from the Highways Authority to postpone implementing changes at Library Corner and Tregenna Hill, originally scheduled to take place in October 2025, until after all the other measures set out in the strategy have been introduced and the impact of these changes assessed, was also supported by the Board.

One of the key areas of congestion in St Ives, with the current two-way traffic system on Tregenna Hill leading to regular conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians, all partners agree that resolving this highly complex situation will play a major role in improving traffic flow within the town.

The proposal currently being developed includes the introduction of a one-way system, with general traffic only permitted to drive up Tregenna Hill. A “bus only system”, with a set of traffic lights at the top and the bottom of the hill, would be introduced to enable buses and emergency vehicles to travel against the one-way system, down the hill as required.

The Highways Authority and the project team are committed to carrying out improvements at Library Corner. However, members of the Board were told that for the proposed scheme to be both effective and safe, and prevent additional problems being created elsewhere on the local road network, they needed to ensure that all the other measures were working as expected to reduce the amount of traffic entering the area before the changes were implemented.

As it is likely this assessment can only be made once the other measures are in place, the board agreed to defer the introduction of the Library Corner / Tregenna Hill element until January 2027, with Cornwall Council ring fencing match funding of £500,000 allocated to deliver the scheme so it can be used at this time.

In the meantime, work will continue to develop the technical design of the one-way system so it is ready for construction once the performance of the other measures has been reviewed and the proposed scheme has been assessed as safe and effective.

The remaining projects in the strategy were supported by members of the St Ives Town Deal Board in February 2024, with work on projects in the first phase due to begin this Autumn (2024).

Measures being implemented in this first phase are likely to include improvements to the junctions at Malakoff, Zennor, Halsetown, and the Station car park. These focus on enhancing bus and train user experience, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and achieving greater speed compliance.

Following concerns about the re-direction of more holiday and day visitor traffic into St Ives along the old coach road as a result of the wider signage being implemented, further work will be carried out to assess what measures can be introduced to mitigate the effect. These are likely to include speed reduction signs and other measures to improve overall safety and aim to compliment Cornwall Council’s ‘20’s plenty’ roll out.

Changes to the Terrace and Stennack junctions and adaptions to car parks in the town are due to begin in February 2025. Prior to any changes to key car parks, such as Barnoon and the Island, discussions will be held with existing permit users and the wider local community.

The remaining schemes include improvements to the junction at Higher Stennack (also due to take place in Autumn 2025) and changes to the Tempest roundabout and Park Avenue and Albert Road, due to be carried out in early 2026.

Discussions will be held with the local community in all these areas to provide information about the proposals and supporting mitigation measures, develop any additional measures required and to address any remaining concerns before work starts on implementing the schemes.

One of the key findings from the public consultation was the need for improvements to public transport, with calls for more reliable and frequent bus services, particularly at evening and weekends, improved signage at the bus and train stations and provide better and safer waiting areas at bus stops and improved information through the use of digital information boards.

The project team are working with bus and rail operators to identify improvements to public transport which can be delivered as part of the Town Deal project.

Updates on the progress being made in developing and implementing the Low Carbon Transport Strategy will continue to be published on the Let’s Talk Cornwall site (https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/st-ives-town-deal-low-carbon-transport ) and the St Ives Town Deal website site ( https://www.stivestowndeal.org.uk/ and social media channels, and shared with the local media.

Plans are being made to hold a public exhibition at the town’s library during the summer to provide the latest details about all the projects and the timetable for delivering the different elements.

Discussions will also continue with stakeholders, community groups and individuals to provide information and discuss concerns as required.

.You can stay updated on the development of this project and the Town Deal programme in St Ives by joining the online newsletter - Subscribe me to the newsletter.

About the Transport Strategy for St Ives

Funded and delivered as part of the St Ives Town Deal programme, the project aims to:

• Reduce traffic congestion and parking demand in the town centre.

• Improve air quality and health outcomes for residents and visitors.

• Enhance public transport options and accessibility for all.

• Support local businesses by creating a more attractive and vibrant town.

You can view the full exhibition and proposed plans here.

About the St Ives Town Deal

St Ives was one of four locations in Cornwall selected to bid for the Government’s £3.6b Towns Fund, which aims to drive economic regeneration and level up the region’s economy.

St Ives secured a Town Deal of up to £19.9m in June 2021, after submitting a Town Investment Plan that outlines nine projects to revitalise the town.

To implement the plan, St Ives Town Deal Board collaborates with funded partner organisations and Cornwall Council.

Six of the nine St Ives Town Deal projects have now been contracted and received their first grant payments, enabling work to begin on delivering these exciting and ambitious schemes. These include St Ives Theatre, the Rugby Club Relocation and Housing, the Guildhall, Leach Pottery, the Enterprise Grants and St Ives Community Orchard.

These projects are part funded by the Government's Town Deal programme and delivered by Cornwall Council in partnership with the St Ives Town Deal Board.

More information is available on the St Ives Town Deal website www.stivestowndeal.org.uk

You can also follow the St Ives Town Deal programme on social media.

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