Work has started on a new park and ride in Penzance which is being created on the site next to Sainsbury’s on the outskirts of the town.

The park and ride will be accessed from Jelbert Way and will provide 169 car parking spaces, 11 disabled parking spaces and eight coach bays. Over the coming months Cornwall Council will be looking to secure a bus operator to provide a shuttle service from the site to the Scillonian Ferry.

The new facility will benefit Penzance in a number of ways. It will offset the loss of parking at Wherrytown car park, which is now being developed by providing a parking facility at a more strategic location on approach to the town from the A30, and the shuttle service to the Isles of Scilly ferry will offer an attractive option for its passengers.

Access into the town will also be available by means of the existing bus service stopping in Jelbert Way and the provision of eight coach parking bays will also serve the visitor market by encouraging coach trips to the town.

Cormac, on behalf of Cornwall Council, started work last week and it is hoped it will be complete by the end of the year. The Penzance Park and Ride will be built on land owned by the Sainsbury’s supermarket chain, the development of which was one of the conditions on which planning permission was granted for their store, which is based just off the A30.

For the next two weeks a small section of Jelbert Way will have the road lanes reduced in width, but two way traffic will still be able to travel along Jelbert Way.

Mario Fonk, Cornwall councillor for Gulval and Heamoor, said the scheme: "I hope that it will encourage more visitors to Penzance as it will reduce the traffic congestion entering and leaving the town.”

Roy Mann, Cornwall councillor for Ludgvan, added: “I welcome work beginning at Penzance Park and Ride which will provide a new way for residents and visitors to the town to visit Penzance.”

Andrew Berryman, Cormac project manager, said: “This is a straight-forward build that we expect to be able to undertake with a minimum of disruption to motorists, visitors, businesses and residents.”

Although a small scheme, the engineering demands mean a range of materials will be delivered over a two month period. This is not expected to have an impact on traffic flows on the surrounding roads or the roundabout however in the unlikely event of any traffic disruption caused by the works Cormac will provide updates on its website and via its social media channels.