A project to transform a Grade II listed church building has received its first allocation of funding.

Truro Methodist Church will be given an extension and refurbishment to create more community space, to become the Truro Community Hub.

The project was awarded £952,000 through the Truro Town Deal, as well as £500,000 match funding from Cornwall Council. An initial £549,000 has now been released to start work.

Phase one of the project will involve a three-story extension to existing buildings at the rear of the church.

Further phases include a new welcoming entrance to the side, and a new community café, followed by refurbishing the existing buildings at the back. 

The Town Deal grant will go towards building the three-storey extension, which will provide an additional 140 square metres of community space and new toilets. 

Currently 114 local groups use the church’s meeting rooms, with increasing demand for availability.

Rev Mark Dunn-Wilson, minister at Truro Methodist Church, said: "It has taken so much hard work and commitment to get this far, so I am thrilled that we can see the start of the build coming into focus.

“I believe that the Truro Community Hub will make such a positive difference for the community of Truro. Moving forward the Hub will be adopting the name Kemeneth (which means ‘community’ in Cornish) as a clear statement of the commitment of the project to serve local groups and people.”

Construction of the new building is scheduled to start in late spring 2025 and be substantially completed by March 2026. The existing facilities within the Methodist church will continue to be available during the construction period.

A CGI of how the transformation will look (Image: Truro Town Deal) The Truro Community Hub is the final project within the Truro Town Deal portfolio to have signed a Grant Funding Agreement and receive funds.

Alan Stanhope, chair of Truro Town Deal board, said: “This is another great step forward in the delivery of our Town Investment Plan – it now means that all of our projects have now been contracted and the real work begins.

“We announced Truro Community Hub would be within our project portfolio back in 2020, and since we were awarded the Town Deal funding, there has been a lot of work behind the scenes by the project team to get necessary planning permission for a listed church building.

“I’m looking forward to work beginning and for Kemeneth to bring welcoming, extended space for the hundreds of community groups that enjoy using it.”

Truro Town Deal Board, in partnership with Cornwall Council, successfully bid for a Town Deal worth £23.6 million to support a range of projects that will contribute to the city’s regeneration and boost the local economy.

Cornwall Council is the lead authority for Cornwall Town Deals and supports the governance role of the Truro Town Deal Board, as well as administrates the fund.

Cllr Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council's portfolio holder for the economy, said: "It is great to see this wonderful community space benefitting from Town Deal funding.

"This news means that all of Truro's Town Deal Investment Plan projects have been contracted, and now the real work will begin to deliver them."