Falmouth’s Town Team were visited by Georgia Downtowns, town development professionals from the United States.

Georgia Downtowns work with towns, local governments and agencies across the state of Georgia to support their economic development and town planning programmes.

They took the trip to Falmouth as part of a fact-finding mission, learning from a select group of towns which have been awarded best-practice for their management set-up and project delivery.

Joel Cordle, from Georgia Downtowns, said: “We knew Falmouth was a must-visit for Georgia Downtowns because of its vibrancy and strong local leadership.

“It is a model for high streets in the UK and main streets in the US.

“The Falmouth Town Team has generated success by building strong partnerships, both private and public; leveraging resources through promotion, reinvestment and efficient operations; and creating visual interest through attractive branding, bespoke signage and an exciting marketing programme.”

The Town Team was formed by a partnership between the Business Improvement District (BID) and the town council.

This led to Falmouth winning the Great British High Street award for best coastal community two years ago, which turned the heads of Georgia Downtowns.

Upon arrival, Georgia Downtowns were keen to find out about the innovative projects that the partnership has set up and how the partnership model works to support the business, resident and visitor communities, with a view of returning to America to use Falmouth as a case study.

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID manager, said: “It was really interesting to meet with Georgia Downtowns and we were delighted that Falmouth and its management partnership model was chosen to be part of a best-practice UK study visit by them.

“Falmouth has pioneered a partner-led approach to meet the national and local challenges as well as the opportunities that Falmouth faces; pooling modest resources to undertake a variety of schemes, festivals and business support programmes over the past nine years.”