It is time for the people of Helston to have their say on how to spend £250,000 in the town centre.

Helston Town Council will be |delivering questionnaires to every household and to all town centre |businesses from this Monday (January 20).

These must be returned to the Guildhall by Thursday, February 13 in order for the views of the wider |community to be taken into account.

The results will be used to set the |priorities when it comes to spending the £250,000 given by Tesco and Sainsbury’s when building new stores in the town.

Mayor Jonathan Radford-Gaby said: “I am aware of the fact that local people are proud of their town and the council would be extremely grateful if you could spare a little time to let us have your views, which will help us to |develop a shared vision for the future of the town centre and identify priority improvements of significant benefit to local people and businesses.”

The questionnaires follow a public meeting that was attended by more than 60 people in October last year.

Suggestions at this time included |giving pedestrians priority in Meneage Street, improving the area around the Grylls Monument and Remembrance Garden, providing more on-street |parking in Coinagehall Street – possibly through ‘herringbone’ style spaces – and improving crossing points in that street.

Creating or improving space for events and markets, developing a |heritage and cultural quarter around the museum and improving visitor information and signs were also raised as ideas.

Through the questionnaire residents and business owners will be able to give their views on these ideas or offer their own thoughts.

In addition to the £250,000 currently available, which must be spent before the end of 2018, the council hopes to attract more money through grants and other public and private investment.

The questionnaire also gives a chance for residents of all ages to test their local knowledge by completing the Helston History Puzzle on the back page, designed by Helston Museum. The winning entrant will get an insight into the work of the museum by going behind the scenes with the assistant curator.

The results of the consultation will be presented at a public meeting at the end of February. Following on from that the council will commission |professional consultants to develop conceptual designs for priority schemes.

As part of this consultation the town council has set up a partnership group, the Helston Public Realm Project Board, to direct and oversee the improvements.

This was initially set up with four members, made up of two from the town council, one from Cornwall Council and the chair of the Helston Business Improvement Partnership.

Now it is looking for up to five more people to join – in particular those with experience in urban design or |landscape architecture, disability, young people and community safety.

The board currently meets once every two months in the Guildhall.

For more information contact town centre regeneration officer Martin Searle by 5pm on Monday, February 3 by writing to The Guildhall, Helston, TR13 8ST, emailing regeneration@helstontc.com or calling 01326 558881.