The fate of a Helston country estate still hangs in the balance this weekend, as the decision about its future has been postponed.

The potential closure of Trevarno Estate was featured in this week's Packet, where we said that a crunch meeting would be held on Wednesday to make a decision.

But that meeting has been deferred for seven days.

Richard Cox, estate manager, said: “The staff have been advised there had been a deferral for a week, as the owners have asked for more information.”

He said the estate has been on the market for over a year, and may have to close by the end of October if no buyer is found.

This closure would mean the loss of 50 jobs, as well as an area of local beauty open to the public.

A petition has been established to save the gardens, hosted on ipetitions.com. It reads: “Cornwall will lose one of its best and most beautiful visitor attractions if Trevarno Estate and Gardens are not sold by the end of September.”