A new metro link between Newquay and Falmouth, town centre improvements for St Austell and Helston, and the construction of the Stadium for Cornwall are the projects set to potentially benefit from the first tranche of Levelling Up Funding (LUF) in Cornwall.

The bids will face stiff national competition, but the council has been invited to submit applications for works which fit the criteria guidance issued by the Government, and which can be ready to start within the strict timeframe set.

Based on those requirements, four projects have been identified. They are:

• The Mid Cornwall Metro (MCM) project, which the council says would improve the service between Newquay and Falmouth by providing a sustainable 'transport corridor' through the middle of the Cornwall. This, it says, would connect some of Cornwall’s most deprived communities to employment, education (including higher education and university), and key services, as well as help grow the economy in both areas.

• The project to construct a Stadium for Cornwall – a community and professional sports facility at Threemilestone. The project is being led by a number of organisations, including the Cornish Pirates, Truro City Football Club and Truro and Penwith College. The stadium project is the only current cultural project in a position to be in a position to move forward in the timeframe set by the guidance, said the council.

• St Austell has been described as a "priority place for levelling up and town revitalisation", as identified by Cornwall Council's town vitality programme.

• Helston would be supported in further developing a number of projects: to refurbish Market Place, Drill Hall Yard and Museum of Cornish Life ope into an area of outdoor events, markets and community activities, and create a physical link from the must to CAST and Wendron Street car park; develop the potential of empty and under-used buildings, such as the old Co-op supermarket, to provide additional community facilities in the town centre; improve transport, especially for cycling, walking and public transport in and around the town; refurbish the main streets, restoring the paths and kennels making the town centre more attractive and less traffic dominant.

Each parliamentary constituency will only be allowed one successful application for the funding, and those areas not included in these initial applications will be prioritised in the future.

This funding is separate to the £123 million of Shared Prosperity Funding announced last week for Cornwall.

Work to identify projects has already begun and the council said it would be working with communities across Cornwall on developing future investment both lots of funding.

Cllr Stephen Rushworth, Cornwall Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for the economy, said: “I am delighted we are submitting these initial applications for projects that will directly benefit so many of our residents.

“This is just the beginning, with further LUF funding and Shared Prosperity Funding also due. When we were elected, we promised we would work to create a Cornwall where people can start well, live well and age well, and this is a very real step in the right direction.

“I look forward to continuing to work with our communities to identify other projects that will make a real difference to the everyday lives of people across Cornwall.”