June 25th 2007

CPR Regeneration prepares Dudnance Lane plan

Plans to transform 78 acres of land either side of Dudnance Lane in Pool for leisure, health and active recreational uses will be unveiled for full public consultation next
month.

CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth, is working with local councils, sports groups, health experts and the wider community to look at a variety of options that will be presented at a public exhibition in July.

At their heart are plans to replace and expand the existing Carn Brea Leisure Centre, which currently operates from 30-year-old buildings, and provide new health facilities in the area.

The proposals will also include improvements to the East Hill junction and the widening of Dudnance Lane to improve access to the A30; part of the proposed new link road which is being promoted by Cornwall County Council and supported by CPR Regeneration, along with new business space, car parking and quality housing.

The team will also look at whether the site could accommodate a new stadium for Cornwall. Nigel Tipple, chief executive of CPR Regeneration, said: "Our vision for this area has always been based around sport, active recreation, health and well being, where leisure and recreation can make a huge contribution to the local community and ultimately the local economy.

"The work we are doing will produce a solid planning framework for a range of possible uses based on hard evidence and that the local authority can use for future planning applications. It will complement everything else that is going on as part of the comprehensive regeneration of the Pool area and will help to attract further public and private sector investment."

Called the Dudnance Lane Implementation Plan (DLIP), the project will support Kerrier's emerging Area Action Plan and complement similar work that has already been done around
Trevenson Road, which has already been endorsed by Kerrier councillors.

It will also extend Kerrier's Heartlands Park project, which is focused around Robinson's Shaft and is the subject of a Big Lottery funding bid, by providing green space to the west of Dudnance Lane.

Following public consultation in July, CPR Regeneration will submit the plans for adoption by Kerrier in the autumn as a 'material consideration' when considering future planning
applications.

In drawing up the plans, CPR Regeneration has gathered a mass of evidence about the need for new sport, leisure and health facilities in the area, to meet the projected 30% growth
in population over the next 20 years.

. Carn Brea Leisure Centre in Pool, which attracts more than half a million visitors a year and is used by more than 90 local clubs and local schools, will need new buildings in the next five years. Studies have shown that there would be enough demand for it to
increase in size by 50%.

. Carn Brea hosts a 'multi-sports hub' and the CPR area is identified as a location for such a hub by Sport England as part of its drive to increase the numbers of people active in sports by 1% every year by 2020.

. In the CPR area there are already 1,834 people per GP compared to the desired ratio, defined by the local Primary Care Trust (PCT), of 1,500. This means five more GPs are already needed to meet current demand, with a further eight needed to meet population growth projections. Local Community health facilities have also reached capacity and need expanding, according to the PCT.

. Studies have shown that access to health, sport and leisure facilities can help build confidence, especially among long-term unemployed people and those on incapacity benefits who wish to return to work. Nearly one third of people who are economically
inactive say they would like to work.

. In Kerrier last year there were 5,020 people on incapacity benefits, which is more than half (56%) of all benefit claimants in the district and the largest single group. Of those, 4,300 have claimed benefit for more than 12 months, and 2,830 have claimed for more than five years.

Mr Tipple added: "These statistics point to the urgent need for new health, sports and leisure facilities in the CPR area and the important role they can play in fostering a healthy lifestyle and helping people off long-term benefits and back into work."

That view was endorsed by Caroline Stead, Associate Director for Primary Care at the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust, who said: "Our biggest challenge in Cornwall must be to provide high quality health services as close to home as possible,
and that means investing to meet current and future needs. Integrating the health services with a sports and leisure facility would make a huge difference to the local community
and local practitioners and it is something we are exploring with CPR Regeneration."

Jeff Marston, chairman of the Carn Brea Leisure Centre Trust, which operates Carn Brea Leisure Centre, said: "We operate a great community asset and no other facility in the area has the same range of activities. Our success has come from the support of the local community and we look forward to being part of a new development that has sport, leisure and health at its heart."

Land for the projects that will make up DLIP, including the 33-acre South Crofty site, will be the subject of a Compulsory Purchase Order by the South West of England Regional Development Agency later this year, or may be acquired by negotiation beforehand. Much if it is already in public ownership.

In drawing up DLIP, CPR Regeneration will retain access for future tin mining at South Crofty via the Tuckingmill Decline and Cooks Kitchen headgear while freeing up the remaining surface area for new uses. That is consistent with Crofty Developments' and Baseresult's own residential-led proposals for their site.