The hundreds of thousands of pounds available for Penryn road and public open space improvements were revealed in public for the first time last week.

At a meeting of the newly formed Section 106 Steering Group representatives from Cornwall Council’s highways department and contractors CORMAC laid out how much cash there was to spend on different areas of the town.

Section 106 money is given to Cornwall Council by developers and house builders as part of the deal they cut with the authority for planning permission.

Before the formation of the unitary authority in 2009, the now defunct Carrick Council worked out these deals with developers and a backlog of such agreements is still being worked through, the group heard.

“We have been systematically working through these agreements,” Cornwall Council engineer Ian Pearne said.

“Transport schemes can either be quite specific about the types of engineering works that are needed or it might be a geographic scheme. We look at that agreement and make sure that the aspiration at the time is still deliverable.”

Of the money available, just less than £85,000 is earmarked for traffic calming in West Street, which could take the form of a 20mph zone “in the coming months” and must be used by June 2015.

As much as £119,000 could be spent on improved pedestrian access or a signalised crossing at Truro Hill’s junction with The Praze, together with trying to tackle Durgan Lane’s “rat run” problem.

A “minor scheme” of £3,788 worth of improved signage at Kernick as part of the Asda development is also on the cards as is £61,000 worth of more general improvements left over from Lidl’s Section 106 contribution.

Nearly £42,000 is still due from the former CMA site on Station Road together with around £38,000 from building work completed off Poltair Road and just less than £120,000 from what Cornwall Council know as the Kernick Farm development.

Mr Pearne said in total there was £350,000 “committed” to highways projects and “potentially £160-170,000 that’s not earmarked at the moment channelled to wider improvements in the town.”

Cornwall Council open space support officer Donald Martin said he would be meeting with the Glasney Green Space Regeneration Project and was also “categorising” sites that can be improved.

The steering group agreed to meet again at the end of February to set priorities for the Section 106 money.

Councillor Mary May thanks residents for getting in touch with their suggestions, adding: “I think the comments from the public have been good, because we all know what needs doing but they put it in to better words than I ever could.”