Helston Town Council has agreed to pay more than £114,000 to make sure a major investment project in the town centre can be completed.

Members of the policy, finance and resources committee agreed unanimously that the shortfall in budget for the Grylls Monument 'public realm' project should be covered from the council's earmarked reserves - a total of £114,296.

Helston had £250,000 set aside from 'supermarket cash' paid out by Sainsbury's and Tesco back in 2010, but the total cost of the project - to transform the area around the monument in Coinagehall Street as a more important historical feature of the town and an area where community events can take place - is roughly £410,000.

This includes the cost of restoring the monument, the majority of which was paid for through a £36,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant and almost £9,000 in other funding, with just £4,500 from the Helston cash pot.

Martin Searle, Helston's town centre regeneration officer who has been overseeing the scheme, said: "This makes it all possible.

"It will make it a more attractive and useful area that can be used for the benefit of the town centre.

"We're in a position like many other former market towns, we're going through a transitional period. We all know that shopping patterns have changed, people do a lot of their shopping in out of town supermarkets or online. Town centres have to attract a different market."

Work includes adding granite paving in front of the monument and around the bowling green, resurfacing the Castle Hill steps and adding extra lighting, with one just inside Monument Walk and another at the top of the steps. Cornwall Council is paying for improvements to the light at the bottom.

There will also be better lighting to the monument itself, with bulbs set into granite paving.

An extra CCTV camera will be added to improve security around that area.

The existing public toilets will be pulled down and rebuilt behind the monument, along with a store room.

Mr Searle said not only would this improve the look of the area but also save money in maintenance, with the drains currently having to be unblocked on almost a weekly basis.

The verge along the Porthleven roundabout will be replanted, new signs will encourage people from Coronation Park up into the town and there will be extra benches.

A new electrical cabinet will give accessible power for the Christmas tree and lights, as well as any events or markets that might take place on the new paved area, with electrical sockets in the store room.

A public art project is being planned, using ideas collected at school workshops already held, that will most likely be slate carvings.

The ground level is being reduced around the remembrance garden, to make it wheelchair accessible.

There should be no changes to the junction with Nettles Hill, with the only difference to traffic being that there will be double yellow lines rather than a single line in front of the monument, to discourage people from parking there.

The project total also includes consultation costs, a traffic survey and other fees, such as structural engineer reports and mining surveys.

Work is now due to begin on August 8 and planned to end on October 28, in time for Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.

During this time the area will be cordoned off, with access only to the bowling club and cottage partway down the Castle Hill steps, although as different areas are completed they could be reopened ahead of the overall finish date.

The town council is in talks with Cornwall Council about taking over the freehold for the entire area, or at the very least having a management agreement, in order to put in place a better maintenance programme to deal with problems more quickly and ensure the toilets and land are clean and tidy, and people will want to use the area.