PROPERTY developer Acorn Blue has officially announced plans to redevelop Truro's Old County Hall into new homes.

The company, part of the Acorn Property Group, has announced plans, to redevelop Truro’s Old County Hall in Station Road, that has lain vacant for number of years.

The scheme, to be undertaken by Acorn’s Cornish Region, Acorn Blue, is a joint venture with the landowners, it will see the vacant building and 2.4 acre site brought back to life.

Planning permission is being sought to 'sympathetically' convert the Grade II listed building into apartments and for the redevelopment of the rear car park to provide a new build residential scheme.

Truro’s Old County Hall was designed by British architect Thomas Ball Silcock, in the Neo-Georgian style, purpose built, and completed in 1890, with an extension added in 1910. The property is a prime example of early 20th-century architecture which retains many of its original features. Built using dressed stonework with granite quoins under a pitched slate roof with a central cupola with open pediments, the façade of the main building is both historically in keeping with local traditional architecture and visually impressive.

Stuart Brereton MRICS, Regional Managing Director and Land Director for Acorn Blue, said: “Old County Hall is a commanding building that deserves to once again be brought back to life. Architect Thomas Ball Silcock created an impressive building that was designed in such a way that it can be re-purposed for present day residential needs without harming his original vision.

“Securing sites with unique histories and bringing them back to use, in an environmentally sustainable way, speaks to Acorn’s core values and the guiding aims of Acorn Green, in taking a holistic approach to development and carbon reduction: retaining the original building will allow us to greatly reduce the environmental impact of the scheme.

"As a developer and placemaker Acorn Green represents our commitment to implementing the best possible design and technologies in the communities we help to build. Truro’s Old County Hall is an exciting opportunity to create truly unique homes and build a community around its historic courtyards and grounds.”