Church Street car park, Falmouth public consultation options

The first public consultation pop-up for Church Street car park took place at the Falmouth Oyster Festival on Friday and Saturday.

Falmouth Town Council is asking people who live and work in the town what they would like to see at the car park site if it is devolved to it by Cornwall Council.

The four-acre site, owned by Cornwall Council, has been identified within Falmouth’s Neighbourhood Development Plan as being key to reimagining the town centre.

Falmouth’s Place Shaping Board, of which Falmouth Town Council is a partner, has commissioned local architects Lavigne Lonsdale and Cornwall-based Inner Circle Consulting to deliver a new vision and master plan for Church Street Car Park.

This includes:

• An amphitheatre with steps for viewing and ample space for event performances 
• A 'celebratory' entrance with pontoons, event moorings, ferries and cruise ship passengers and water taxis.
• New buildings around the site for restaurants, cafes, performance spaces etc
• A two storey residential building on the northern end of the site
• Removable kiosks

The reason for consultation is to find out what residents want for this space if it’s devolved. There are five options available which the Packet will go into in more detail in a following article.

Cornwall Council has told Falmouth Town Council that if it devolves the car park to the town council it cannot continue to use it for parking.

If it remains with Cornwall Council there are concerns it will become "surplus to requirements" in the future and be sold off to developers.

The consultation took place at the oyster festival (Image: Jayne Kirkham)

Posting on Facebook, deputy mayor Kirstie Edwards said she wanted to address concerns saying if Church Street car park is devolved the council, it "cannot" be kept as a car park.

"If church street car park is devolved I repeat it can’t be kept as a car park- we have to do something else with it.

"If it stays with Cornwall Council it may or may not stay a car park or become something else entirely.

"This worries me if it becomes 'surplus to requirements' down the road. Particularly after the Ships and Castles fiasco- we want to ensure this land remains in public ownership for the people of Falmouth no matter what."

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She says the council will keep pushing to overcome the getting into centre of town for disabled or elderly residents which needed to be resolve before proceeding with anything.

However many people have expressed concerns about losing a car park in the centre of the town and question the need for another performance space in the town such as Events Square, which is privately owned, The Moor, Princess Pavilion and Kimberley Park.

There are also fears that losing a town centre car park would hit the disabled and town centre businesses.

The next consultation takes place on Tuesday, October 25 from 10-4pm at The Princess Pavilion then Wednesday 26 October 26 10am-4pm at Art Gallery/Library lobby and Thursday, October 27, 10am-4pm at The Dracena Centre.