Up to 20 new jobs are to be created at the Treasure Park retail centre in Redruth, with a £350,000 development programme starting shortly.

The four-month construction project is the latest in an ongoing expansion plan aiming to double annual visitor numbers to half a million.

It will see the creation of another four retail units in a 4,000 sq ft single storey extension that will more than double the size of the present Red Carpet Restaurant building, itself completed less than a year ago.

Planning permission was recently granted for the project, which will see the demolition of the restaurant building's north wall and the relocation of the Pandemonium gold panning centre, which has been temporarily housed in a marquee.

"Last year saw a very encouraging increase in visitor numbers - up by eight per cent to a record 270,000 - and in December we almost doubled our sales on the same month for 2005," said Treasure Park commercial manager Darren Buckley.

"These achievements have encouraged us to invest in further expansion, which we hope will be ready for the Whitsun Bank Holiday and certainly for the peak summer season.

"We are currently in talks with a number of prospective traders for the new units but are still open to other approaches."

When the Cornish Goldsmiths site was relaunched as Treasure Park nine months ago, Jersey-based owner Mike Scragg described the enhanced retail centre as a major showcase opportunity for Cornwall's most talented artisans and budding entrepreneurs.

There are now 22 businesses employing 100 people on the 30-acre site - double the respective numbers of two years ago - and further increases, on top of those for the new extension, are anticipated this year.

A highlight of the 2006 success story was the increase in the number of coaches visiting Treasure Park - up by around eight cent to 2,160 and delivering some 75,500 visitors to the site. The coaches figure is expected to climb again this year to around 2,200.