A review of Helston’s businesses and events will be carried out over the coming months amid claims that parts of the town are “a disgrace” and a fear that it is missing out on funding.

Town mayor Gillian Geer said a volunteer with experience in organising big events in other parts of the country had volunteered to carry out an “audit” free of charge.

He will then advise the town council of what could be done better to attract more people to the town and boost its economy.

She told the Packet: “It will be totally free of charge to the town, using his expertise to see all the things we could be doing that might help the town.

“When he has done it he will come back to the council with suggestions about how the town could proceed.”

Mrs Geer said this would take place over the next two or three months and it was likely that councillors would then sit down with him in the New Year.

“We will sit down together as a council and say what we can seriously find the funding for – and that’s where I want the MP to step up.”

Mrs Geer said in a past conversation, West Cornwall’s MP Derek Thomas had promised to “assist in finding more funding.”

She recently got in contact with him again and was waiting to hear back, after a “distraught” businesswoman visited her Meneage Street shop.

The unnamed woman, who grew up in the town and now also has a shop here, was upset about the appearance of some areas and in particular the apparent lack of support Helston received financially, compared to other parts of the county.

Mrs Geer said: “This poor soul, she was distraught. She came in just to say she was very upset about the state of the town, in the empty supermarket building and the car park looking like a disgrace, right at the entrance to the town.

“Every other small town in the area seems to get money poured into it and Helston never does. She was born and her husband was born in Helston, she runs a business in Helston and she could not understand why Helston was missing out on everything.

“She said that it’s very nice to put up some hanging baskets and they do look nice, but what’s the point if the whole place looks so terrible?

“Her distress was why is everybody getting a bigger crack of what is admittedly a small pot – and that is true.”

Mrs Geer said that something had to be done, adding: “We can’t just sit on it, we have to look for things we can do for the town.”