I am extremely happy to be supporting the on-going process
for a Heritage Lottery Fund application.
St Austell has been given the opportunity to submit a plan for a
Townscape Heritage Scheme to improve the external structures of historic
buildings in the town.
The Historic Environment Department of Cornwall Council and
St Austell Town Council are jointly leading the work on the application. The Cornwall Council officers have a track
record of delivering heritage schemes in Cornwall and St Austell Town Council
brings local knowledge and expertise to bear.
While success is not guaranteed, it has been heartening that
the key organisations in the town have been working together to ensure that we
submit a high quality application. As
well as the Town Council, the Business Improvement District, the St Austell Bay
Chamber of Commerce and the Market House team have all contributed to the
process.
The Heritage Lottery Fund grant money will enable owners of
historic buildings to restore the facades of the buildings to their former
glory. The standard of the work will be
carefully monitored and controlled to ensure that our important buildings are
preserved.
While many building owners keep their buildings to a high
standard, the recession has impacted other owners negatively, meaning that
essential repair work has been delayed.
Next time you are in the town centre look above the shop frontages and
you will see the challenges that we face.
Many buildings in the centre of St Austell tell the story of
our history and we should protect them.
The architect Silvanus Trevail designed buildings such as the Red Bank,
and the building that is now Sports Direct was once Public Meeting Rooms. One of the outcomes of this scheme will be
that education about the town centre history will increase.
The application is in its final stages and the town could
benefit by up to £1 million. The scheme will also progress pioneering energy
saving and skills training initiatives which will be led by local businesses
and education centres. These will
upskill local contractors in traditional and new sustainable building
techniques.
No-one is under any illusion that improving buildings is the
silver bullet that St Austell needs; we need more, better paid jobs to
stimulate the economy which in turn will bring prosperity back to the
town. But, the Townscape Heritage Scheme
will form one of the building blocks that we need to improve the town centre
and it is for this reason that I am lending my support to this application.
If we are successful, the whole scheme will take a number of
years to deliver and I look forward to watching the townscape change for the
better. I wish the project team good
luck in their application.
My team and I are here to serve the whole constituency and
seek to make a real difference to the lives of everyone who needs help and
support in any way.
If there is any issue that we can help you with then please
contact us on either 07555069714 or on office@stevedouble.org.uk.
