A brand new restaurant could be coming to the Falmouth and Penryn area - run by students.

Penryn College is looking at the possibility of creating a new purpose-built food technology department, which would also include a 50-seat restaurant area that could be used for events catered by students and also by local restaurants for training sessions.

It would be a smaller scale set-up to that at Cornwall College in Pool, which has the Trevenson Restaurant that is run and catered for by the hospitality and catering students themselves, under the direction of their teachers, for members of the general public to visit during weekday lunchtimes and one evening.

While it is unlikely that the Penryn version would be used on such a regular basis, assistant headteacher Dan Mather said it was hoped it could be used for a wider range of community events.

He told the Packet: "It's very early days. We do very much want it to be a training centre, where our students or possibly other young people can come in and do training work - cheffing, front of house and hosting; maybe in the evenings, or certain groups of students and teachers during the day."

He added that a food technology classroom would be its main purpose, but it was being designed to include these extra features to widen its use.

Mr Mather said a possible link with local care homes had been suggested, adding: "Local businesses could use it as a training facility for their young chefs."

Falmouth Packet:

Early plans for the new food technology department and restaurant

The college is meeting with local businesses on October 3 at 8pm, to talk about the plans and linking with the community. Anyone wanting to attend can get in contact with Rachael Bastian at the college.

The college has currently asked for 'pre-application advice' from Cornwall Council, regarding the feasibility of such a development, before it decides whether to make a full planning application.

It has earmarked two potential sites on the college grounds - the preferred site being an open space to the front of the school, which currently offers parking, cycle storage and a lawn. The bike storage would be relocated to elsewhere in the grounds.

The second, alternative site, is an area to the side of the school that is currently a tarmac playground with some stone hedging.

The college has been working with the architect that designed the new building for the school in 2008, on early potential plans that show a 84 square metre 'host space' restaurant adjoining the larger food technology room.

It would be part of a wider series of building works being carried out at the college, starting this summer with relocating its area resource base to the heart of the school and moving some classroom areas.

The planned timescale is to get planning permission for building to take place next summer, ready to open the new facilities in September 2020.