July 19th 2007
CPR Regeneration publishes Dudnance Lane plans
Exciting plans to transform 78 acres of land either side of Dudnance Lane in Pool for sport, leisure, health and active recreational uses go on public display from this weekend.
There will be five staffed exhibitions at the following locations:
- Saturday, July 21, Carn Brea Leisure Centre, 10am to 4pm
- Sunday July 22, Carn Brea Leisure Centre, 10am to 4pm
- Friday July 27, The Hub Club, Carn Brea Leisure Centre, 10am to 7pm
- Saturday July 28, Tesco, Pool, 10am to 4pm
- Sunday July 29, Pool Market, 10am to 4pm
There will be an exhibition on permanent display at Carn Brea Leisure Centre until August 10, and a document setting out the options being considered will also be available to view at Carn Brea Parish, Camborne Town Council, Kerrier District Council and Redruth Town Council offices until August 10th.
All the options being considered, including exhibition boards and a feedback form will all also be on CPR Regeneration's website from Friday, July 20. Please click on the following links:
Summary of Three Options
http://www.cprregeneration.co.uk/uploads/download/3%20options%20plans.pdf
Feedback Form
http://www.cprregeneration.co.uk/uploads/download/DLIP%20feedback%20form.pdf
Implementation Plan
Public Exhibition Boards
CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth, has published three different options for the land as part of a three-week consultation that
is touring the area.
They range from the creation of a new stadium arena for sports events and concerts to a new sports village and even an indoor water park.
All the options include plans to replace and expand the existing Carn Brea Leisure Centre, which currently operates from 30-year-old buildings, and provide new health facilities which are already over-subscribed.
CPR Regeneration's core vision for the site over the next five years is to transform the extensive areas of under-used and mainly brownfield (previously developed) land into flagship new facilities for sports, health and well-being, active leisure and recreation.
These facilities will be essential not only to support the estimated 30% growth in population in the area over the next 20 years, but also to attract visitors and new investment.
The plans have been designed to fit with a range of other regeneration projects in Pool including Cornwall County Council's proposed east-west link road, the dualling of Dudnance Lane, improvements to East Hill junction, regeneration of the Trevenson Road area including Kerrier District Council's Heartlands Project, and the masterplan for the redevelopment of
Cornwall College's campus.
Following consultation with local councils, sports groups, health experts and the wider community, all of the options being considered include:
- A new leisure and health centre
- A small amount of quality housing and children's play area next to Tuckingmill
- Some new office/business accommodation on Dudnance Lane
- A new central car park
- New footpaths and cycle tracks
- Retained access for mining and the iconic South Crofty headgear
The three options are:
- Option 1 - A Stadium for Cornwall: In addition to a new leisure and health centre the area would be a sports hub with a new stadium arena as a focal point. It would provide a range of facilities for sport and physical activity serving the local community, as well as providing a venue for rugby, concerts and events, and could include conference facilities and a hotel.
- Option 2 - A Sport & Leisure Hub: In addition to a new leisure and health centre the area would be an exciting destination focused around a new leisure, recreation and sports 'village' which would provide a range of activities including cafes, restaurants, indoor sports and potentially ten pin bowling and a cinema.
- Option 3 - A Water Park: In addition to a new leisure and health centre, wet-weather attractions such as a flume park, waterslides, wave machines and indoor surfing could be added to the mix. Quality leisure and recreation activities like ten pin bowling and a cinema could be provided.
Nigel Tipple, chief executive of CPR Regeneration, said: "This is an exciting opportunity to think big about the kind of place Pool could be in the future and its role in regenerating the wider area both socially and economically.
"No final decisions have been made and these plans are a concept stage but what is clear is that any scheme must include a replacement for Carn Brea Leisure Centre and secure
improved community health facilities.
"There are clear links between sport, health and well being and the role they can play in fostering a healthy lifestyle and helping people off long-term benefits and back into work. That's a big issue locally and one that we need to tackle.
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 want 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, 2,830 have claimed for more than five years.
But in the CPR area health services are already heavily over-subscribed. This is confirmed by the Primary Care Trust which has advised that there are 1,834 people per GP compared to the desired ratio of 1,500. Community health facilities have also reached capacity and need expanding to meet current and future demand.
Carn Brea Leisure Centre, meanwhile, will require substantial new investment in the next five years if it is to continue to provide a quality service to the community. It is hugely popular in the local community attracting more than half a million visitors a year, and is used by more than 90 local clubs and local schools. Studies have shown that there would be enough demand for it to increase in size by 50%.
Land for the projects that will make up the 78-acre site either side of Dudnance Lane, 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 (RDA) later this year, or may be acquired by negotiation beforehand. Much of the land is already in public ownership.
Publication of the options, known as the Dudnance Lane Implementation Plan (DLIP), has been warmly welcomed.
Jeff Marston, chairman of the Carn Brea Leisure Centre Trust, which operates Carn Brea Leisure Centre, said: "We're delighted to see a new expanded leisure centre at the heart of all these options and have worked with CPR Regeneration on what sort of facilities the Trust and local community would like to see. We know there is demand for the range of activities we already provide and that demand will only increase in the future."
Stephen Bohane, head of operations in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for the South West RDA, said: "This is an important project for Camborne, Pool and Redruth and is a crucial element to achieving the overall regeneration of the CPR area. If this land is developed in the right way it will raise the quality of life of local residents and the profile and image of the area, and create new opportunities for local people by making it more attractive for business."
Councillor Carolyn Rule, Economic Portfolio Holder at Kerrier District Council, said: "With some 6000 to 8000 new jobs and 6000 new homes proposed for the CPR area over the next 20 years we need to plan for that expansion now and make sure we have the right facilities to serve a growing community. We hope that local people will take the opportunity to visit the exhibitions and give their views."
Following the three-week consultation period, which ends on August 10, all the comments received will be fed into a final document which will then go to Kerrier District Council
for consideration and approval in the autumn.
If approved this will mean that it takes on a more formal status as a 'material consideration' in the determination of future planning applications, and can be used by both the public and private sector as one of a number of guides to the detailed planning
and implementation stages.