The government wants to invest £25 million in Cornwall's only city according to a cabinet minister on a visit yesterday.

Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Communities, visited Truro to discuss the city’s progress with the Towns Fund funding bid.

Truro has been chosen as one of 101 towns across the UK to bid for up to £25 million.

Communities, businesses and local leaders have been asked to work together to draw up ‘Town Deal’ plans to help transform the economic growth prospects of each area, with an emphasis on improved transport, broadband connectivity, skills and culture.

Earlier this year it was confirmed that Truro will receive between £500,000 and £1 million of this funding ahead of schedule to spend on projects such as improvements to parks, high streets and local transport.

The final amount it will receive is still to be decided.

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However, Mr Jenrick said yesterday: "Here in Truro I had the pleasure of meeting the Truro Towns Fund board to hear about their very exciting plans to use the £25million that we want to invest in the town so that we can get more tourists here, help with the regeneration and get more housing as well.”

The Towns Fund, a national project which is aiming to help towns to develop regeneration schemes, was established before the current coronavirus crisis which has impacted heavily on town and city centres.

Asked whether there would have to be more help provided to town city centres as a result, Mr Jenrick said that they would have to look differently about what the centres are for.

“Town and city centres were under a lot of pressure before Covid, market forces encouraging us to shop more online, those market forces have been accelerated dramatically over the last few months and we are very aware of that and I have heard about some of the empty shops in Truro for example which you see in towns across the country.

“This fund will help the community, if you can get the very interesting proposals agreed, get the funding flowing in the coming months and help confidence as you will see with the other places in Cornwall such as Penzance, Camborne and St Ives which are also going to be beneficiaries.

“But beyond that we do need to think very carefully about how town and city centres adapt with the new circumstances and for me that will mean getting more housing in particular into these places so that as retail changes you have more people young and old living here and there will be more opportunities for more flexible working places, of which Cornwall could be a beneficiary, because it is a place where people want to live and if there are more opportunities for people to work from home or working more flexibly that will help people to stay here rather than going elsewhere to work in the country.”

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MP for Truro and Falmouth Cherilyn Mackrory said: “It was great to welcome the Secretary of State for Communities to Truro so he could see first hand the planning that is going on across the Truro community to realise the ambitions for this transformative funding for our city.”

“I am pleased that the Secretary of State can see for himself the awesome positive vision we have for Truro, and I hope he goes away with a firm picture of the impressive change for our city that we are trying to achieve.”

Carole Theobald, chair of the Truro Towns Board, said: “Meeting with the Secretary of State was our first opportunity to discuss our vision of the types of interventions that will drive growth and productivity.

“We have a brilliant mix of ideas that celebrate Truro as a thriving destination with rich heritage, yet also set to build a robust economic future.

“Over the coming weeks, we will be seeking a wide range of views and involving the public and businesses about the projects. Those views will go into the plan we put to Government in January 2021 to secure this valuable funding.”