Truro Parking – Truro Civic Society

THE VIEW FROM THE RETAIL TRENCHES

admin — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 09:09:31 +0000

What is it that makes one town or city a bustling place and another into a relative backwater? It is, of course, trade, and it was ever thus. Truro may have lost its shipping and mining heritage, but this has been replaced by a thriving retail sector plus a very active business quarter. In addition, it still has all the major banks represented here: another reason why it is Cornwall’s major retail centre.

Notwithstanding this, the traders in the city are facing a perfect storm of adverse factors such as competition from online, crippling business rates, the recent changes in the Budget, expensive car parking and now a major reduction of parking places due to the problems at Moorfield, together with the loss of facilities at the Pydar development. It’s no wonder the average trader says, “Give us a break for goodness’ sake”.

As traders and a commercial property landlords, we have been in Truro since the early 80’s. In that time, very few people have asked me (or my late father) for our thoughts on the decisions which affect Truro’s businesses, and I mean at Council level. I know that Truro BID (Business Improvement District) does a fantastic job generally. and sends out occasional surveys, but that is only at BID’s level, and I feel that Cornwall Council and, to a lesser extent the City Council, don’t really know what is going on with grass-roots businesses in Truro

The idea of pedestrianising the centre of Truro has been thrashed around for a long time with arguments on both sides. but it is a pretty momentous decision, and I ask myself, would it really work? So, perhaps, we can compromise and use some of the Towns Fund money to install rising bollards on the roads that lead to the centre of Truro, so on weekends and events such as Armistice Day and Xmas shopping events, the centre can be closed very quickly and easily without the need for Traffic Marshalls and fencing, etc. which is always cited by the Council as being expensive and time consuming to arrange.

My fear with the Towns Fund money is that in 10 years’ time, we’ll all be scratching our heads thinking, “Where did all that money go”?. It needs to serve as a legacy for Truro for years and years to come.

It’s quite understandable that the two Councils should seek to maximise income from special events in Lemon Quay and Boscawen Street. but not at the expense of existing traders. I have concerns about the number of markets/events that happen on the Quay, I feel it’s surpassed saturation point. Even though they do drive footfall into Lemon Quay, the sales in the surrounding shops often decrease and some traders who have similar businesses, such as Greengrocers and Gift Shops, have found it so devastating that their businesses have collapsed. The frequency of the outdoor markets has wiped out their profit margin. Twice a week throughout the year is becoming exceedingly difficult for our traders.

Yes, an additional shopper drawn into the city by the various markets is always welcome, but a pound spent there by a regular visitor is a pound less spent in the normal shops,

It’s all a question of balance

As an example of this, a “late night shopping” event is always followed by a retail hangover the following morning. Of course, the former is welcomed by retailers but one should at least be aware of the latter.

When we have pop-ups in Tinners Court, as we sometimes do, we have a duty of care towards our tenants in the Pannier Market not to allow too much direct competition with them. I do ask whether the same duty of care is being employed by the two councils.

Pop-up stalls in Tinner’s Court

They need to be more mindful of the damage to full time shops and businesses by having so many pop-up competitors on their doorstep. I have brought this to the Town Clerk’s attention on a few occasions now and he has raised it in a council meeting. We await confirmation if our opinion is heard or whether it falls on deaf ears.

Why should the craft market run throughout so much of the year? It has aggrieved so many traders to find out that there was a weekly Friday Craft Market for the majority of the year, which almost immediately took business away from many small shops in Truro. With a proper consultation with local businesses, a more thoughtful event-type of monthly market would likely have been suggested and would be more welcome. Instead of a weekly hit on all craft-type of businesses, a monthly varied event specialising in “pet products, or eastern foods, vegan events, or festival wear, etc.” would result in greater interest and be less damaging to one specific type of industry”

The “Farmers’ Market” is not what it once was, the original idea being local businesses being invited to sell their locally produced items. For example, the ‘Farmers’ market’ greengrocer imports a percentage of their stock, and is thus not even totally British, let alone Cornish! Unfortunately, the Pannier Market greengrocer just couldn’t compete with Wednesday and Saturday shoppers filling their baskets twice a week outside, thinking they were buying local, and her sales just plummeted. Do we really need Farmers’ Markets twice a week?

Regarding the events on Lemon Quay, some events warrant marquees – some don’t. I feel that the Fat Stock show and the Food Festival (which was not a great success this year using the huts) are best in a traditional marquee setting because they create a better sense of community and traders and the public are protected from the elements, whilst others such as Xmas markets are better in the wooden sheds, as it creates better movement of shoppers over the Quay. it might also be better to use smaller Marquees occasionally.

A simple idea, why not create a drivers’ room for coach drivers? An area where they can meet, relax, have some refreshments and maybe watch TV and chat with other drivers, whilst their passengers are all shopping in Truro for the day. The money could easily build a small room in the corner of the coach park, with toilet facilities. If you make the drivers comfortable, they’ll want to come to Truro, and they’ll all be bringing 60+ people who are willing and able to spend money. This is another example of where some of the Towns Fund could be spent.

Half of all available spaces are now taken by buses

Whilst on this subject – the idea of “Transport for Cornwall” buses taking up half of the valuable spaces within the coach park is wrong. This was done by Cornwall Council, seemingly with no consultation with anybody in Truro. For example, the visit by American tourists this year from a cruise ship, organised by Visit Cornwall, was a fiasco as they were unable to offload their passengers in the Coach Park and were reduced to parking on the main road and causing traffic chaos. It was ridiculous.

Truro is a unique and thriving city and it is so important we don’t lose focus on that. It is the small shops that make Truro what it is, and many of them are currently struggling. We need to protect our local independent businesses but a lot of the decisions which affect the city -planned events and Fund’s money ideas – are already made by the councils and are never really open to debate.

John Roach – Vitalbirch Ltd

With over 40 years of experience in the retail sector, the family business now focuses on property letting, including the Pannier Market and other commercial properties in Truro.

SOMETHING’S GOT TO BE DONE WITH THE MOORFIELD CAR PARK

admin — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:33:55 +0000

The Moorfield multi-storey car park was built in the early 1970s. It is part of a major re-engineering of traffic management in Truro Town Centre. The architect was the late John Taylor. The re-engineering included the by-pass (inexplicably named ‘Morlaix Avenue’), inner distributor routes (City Road/Charles St/Fairmantle Street to Fairmantle St Roundabout and Union Street/St Clement Street to Trafalgar Roundabout), it transformed Truro and the prospects for those who live and work there.

In addition, the scheme provided rear servicing for much of the primary shopping area, which attracted the national chains which trade in Truro. That part of the scheme

capped the Town Leat (now The Leats), serving Pydar St, King St, St Nicholas St, River St:
the High Cross multi-storey complex servicing Boots and (the-then) Tescos,
the undercroft of Moorfield CP serving Malletts, Argos and (the-then) Somerfield supermarket:
using St Mary’s Street (linking via Old Bridge Street to the St Clement Street distributor road) to service what is now Mountain Warehouse, the Co-op, The Entertainer and others – in Boscawen Street..

This was a massive undertaking. It paved the way to Truro becoming a major shopping centre whilst also supporting a wealthy business and commercial sector, entertainment/hospitality, culture and town centre residents. It continues to underpin modern Truro very well, although it is given little credit for doing so – sadly!

Moorfield muti-storey car park is a key installation, served by the inner distributor road, supporting the town centre and the Lemon Street business district. It was controversial, partly because it was built on land used historically for events – wrestling, fairs, markets – and partly because the original concept included demolishing Walsingham Place. This prompted Sir John Betjeman to visit, give the Mayor a ‘dressing down’, and the Philip Sambell masterpiece to be prominently featured in his ‘Shell Guide to Truro’ – he described it as ‘Mercifully preserved’.

We are now hearing reports that the car park structure is nearing the end of its life. I am lucky enough to have been shown the evidence of this, and it is clear. There is no imminent risk of collapse, but loading has to be tested, calculated to be strictly limited in future. The structure may well need to be modified, or to come down.

What if it has to be demolished?

There are several points to be made:

Keep the Moorfield for car parking

The fundamental importance of this site as a car park serving business and retailing has been well and truly proven over time. Whatever happens, it must continue as a car park – even though with reduced capacity – a ground level open-air car park may well accommodate the reducing amount of vehicular parking demand as climate change demands more public transport and different ways of doing things – but, we should make no mistake – we will need a centrally located car park – employment, productivity, value and future evolution all depend upon it. Just ask the cinema, Malletts or any other business, particularly in the Victoria Square area.

CC must pay for revenue-stripping car parks

Cornwall Council (like the district councils before it) has pushed car park charges to produce a surplus which feeds the general revenue budget each year – pre-Covid this was often in excess of £10m per year. There is no capital reserve to manage car parking strucvtures like Moorfield.

Now, Moorfield will need money to either demolish, modernise or refurbish – having siphoned off tens of millions, the onus must be on Cornwall Council to ensure that timely analysis and action is taken – there can be no excuse – the parking gravy train has (so to speak!) come home to roost. Whatever has to happen, it must happen quickly – Truro cannot afford delay or a long period without the Moorfield (in some format or other).

CC must make temporary town centre provision

Whilst urging speedy action, whatever happens will take some time to sort out. In the meantime, businesses all around the Moorfield are suffering, day and night. On top of everything else this is a pressure which should not be there. Cornwall Council must make a temporary provision – it’s no good saying ‘Use the Park & Ride’ – many professionals rely on their cars to generate business, and losing time bussing up and down is going to undermine their performance. Truro needs something in place by the Autumn so that the Christmas retail and hospitality trade is not undermined, and more quickly than that if businesses in Lemon Street are to keep going. Perhaps an option lies on the Pydar Street site!

THE MOOR FIELD IS NOT FOR SALE

CC could, if confronted with demolition, opt to sell if the site could be sold. This land has been in public ownership in the town since time immemorial but, unlike The Green, there are no covenants or other constraints (except that the mineral rights are owned by others).. Any notion of selling should be discounted as a non-starter – Truro needs the Moorfield to support its trade – NOT FOR SALE! Neither is it acceptable for the Moorfield to be ‘transferred’ to Treveth!

Cornwall Council must remind itself (daily) that it is a local authority, not a private business, and that its function is to provide services – including well-located, good-condition car parking in town centres like Truro.

Losing an important Truro Building

Moorfield CP is mainly boarded up now to prevent vandalism and trespass. We should not allow ourselves to be manipulated into believing that the multi-storey is derelict. We – the town and Cornwall Council – have choices to make. Most of those choices involve doing what is constructive to encourage the economy, employment, productivity, accessibility and employment. The town must be included in the decision-making processes.

And one last point! Whilst accepting that there are structural problems, mostly stemming from not having as much understanding then, as we do now, of how to construct using concrete, the Moorfield Car Park is an elegant and well-designed building, slotted-in to a more complex structure which includes the supermarket, Argos store and rear servicing for Malletts. It has served the town well for 60 years or so. Let us recognise the value and the aesthetic of Moorfield, and the contributions of that community or architects gathered together by John Crowther and John Taylor. Whilst not being too sentimental about it, we should acknowledge their architectural achievement and the role it has played in generating the sort of wealth that enables owners of property in the town centre to sustain a very high quality Conservation Area, including examples of the best of our post-War collection of buildings, and to sustain a level of trade and commerce in the town which, uniquely, as I write, still has five high street banks operating in Front Street..

Bert Biscoe