Public invited to have their say on transport improvements for Malpas Road

Plans to improve safety and provide better facilities for walking and cycling along the river edge at Malpas are being published for formal consultation on Thursday, 12 December.

The proposals for Malpas Road are part of Truro’s Town Deal funded Green Transport project. This aims to improve pedestrian and cycling provision within the city, and increase connectivity by creating better and safer links with existing assets, such as the Newham Trail, Malpas and Boscawen Park and the national cycle network route.

In June 2021, Truro was awarded £23.6m of the government’s Town Deal funding. The Town Deal programme, developed in consultation with the local community, comprises seven projects that are designed to transform the city and local economy. The Malpas Road scheme is the first to be delivered as part of the Green Transport project.

The project team have been looking at ways to improve safety and provide better facilities for walking and cycling along the river edge on Malpas Road.

The proposals include providing improved access to footpaths and new crossing points to connect people to the riverside, together with traffic calming features along Malpas Road.

A landscaped green space area will be created in place of the Pendeen Road roundabout, which will be transformed into a ‘T’ junction, together with new planting, paving, seating and footpath connectivity.

The scheme will be delivered in a series of phases to minimise potential disruption. The first phase – which involves the construction of the landscaped green space area – is currently scheduled to be carried out between January and March 2025.

This will be followed by further phases to improve existing footway kerbing sections, install new crossing points, carry out minor junction improvements, and complete resurfacing works. The whole scheme is due to be completed by the end of 2025.

The space constraints means that some sections of the road will need to be closed at various times to enable the works to be carried out safely. The project team are very aware of the potential impact of this on local residents and businesses, emergency services, and to visitors, and will be working closely with all stakeholders to keep disruption to a minimum.

Details of the temporary traffic management measures are still being developed but are expected to involve using temporary traffic lights where possible to carry out works during daytime hours such as improvements to the existing footways and the proposed green space area at Pendeen Road junction.

Road closures will be necessary to construct new crossing points and for kerbing & footway improvements in existing narrow sections of carriageway.

Road closures will be carried out overnight with noisy operations being completed within the evening period. The project team will endeavour to maintain access through the works where this can be safely achieved. Advanced notice of road closures will be provided for residents and local users to enable forward planning of their journeys within these periods of work. Access for emergency services will always be ensured.

The period of statutory consultation will run for three weeks from Thursday, 5 December. This is being led by Cormac in partnership with the Truro Green Transport project team. Feedback from the consultation will be used to inform the final design for the scheme.

Alan Stanhope, Chair of Truro Town Deal Board, said: “Our vision with the Truro Town Deal investment was to create a “connected river city” and the Green Transport project brings everything together by encouraging people to use active travel such as walking and cycling to move around the city.

“These plans are set to improve access along Malpas Road and make it safer and more pleasant to use the riverside as a pedestrian or cyclist –This is a chance to view the proposals and have your say.”

Details of the proposals, including maps and drawings, will be available to view on the transport consultation section on Cornwall Council’s website : www.cornwall.gov.uk/TrafficConsult from 12th December. Responses can made via the website and also provided via email at traffic@cormacltd.co.uk.

Information about the consultation, and the wider Truro Green Transport project, is also available on the Let’s Talk Cornwall site and the Truro Town Deal website. Please note that responses to the consultation must be submitted via Cornwall Council’s consultation site: www.cornwall.gov.uk/TrafficConsult.

Ends

Notes to Editors

About the UK Government Town Deals programme

The Town Deal 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.

About Truro Towns Fund

In June 2021, Truro was awarded £23.6 million from the Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund . You can find out more here

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 St Ives Town Deal Board and is responsible for administering the Fund on behalf of the Board.