13 November 2007

It's a Gold Award for Redruth Town Centre improvements!

Following a successful visit to the town on 28 September by the judging panel for this year's Town Centre Environment Awards hosted by the British Council of Shopping Centres (BCSC), Officers and Members from Kerrier District Council, Cornwall County Council and CORMAC learnt last week that the town has won a gold award for its town centre Public Realm improvements.

The Gold Award was presented to Cllr Mrs Carolyn Rule, Kerrier's Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Redruth's Deputy Mayor, Mrs Barbara Ellenbroek at the BCSC awards ceremony held in Newcastle on 6th November.

The retail property award is in recognition of the works undertaken under the Public Realm Scheme in the town
centre and recognises outstanding achievement in town centre environments. The award is seen as a turning point for the fortunes of Redruth, which has seen £2.5m of investment to the town centre in the last three years.

The criteria for selecting Redruth for the award included the effective use of design, and community involvement to improve the areas attractiveness or accessibility and promoting the concept of vibrant competitive town centres.

Councillor Mrs Carolyn Rule, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration said: "I was so incredibly proud to receive this award on behalf of Redruth, what a fantastic achievement for everyone involved, well done!"

Paul King, Cornwall County Council's Principal Engineer was delighted to hear of Redruth's success and commented: "Thanks and congratulations should be extended to everyone who has played a role in achieving this award, from both the Kerrier and County design teams through to the CORMAC operatives who have worked extremely hard in producing the improvements of which Redruth can rightly be proud.  I must also acknowledge the patience and understanding shown by the Redruth community and in particular the traders."

Stephen Bohane,  Head of Operations for the South West RDA for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly said: "The RDA and English Partnerships have invested £5million in the Public Realm works in Redruth and Camborne and this award is recognition that this investment has made a significant difference to the town centre of Redruth.  It will undoubtedly have a very positive impact on Camborne too.  I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone involved."

Matt Powell, Business Growth Manager for CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth agreed: "This is fantastic news for Redruth and everyone involved in winning this award in the town. The public realm works will really increase the vitality of the area and it is great to see this investment being recognised at a national level."

The Redruth Public Realm project has focussed on enhancing the streets, lanes, car parks and squares in the town, and is funded by English Partnerships and South West of England Regional Development Agency.  They are based upon extensive community consultation and are specially designed to fit into the overall regeneration strategy for the town and reflect the individual character and history.

The project is a partnership between Kerrier District Council, Cornwall County Council and CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne Pool and Redruth, with funding from English Partnerships and the Regional Development Agency.

Landscape Architects at Kerrier District Council have worked in partnership with Highway Design Engineers at Cornwall County Council and a range of local artists/fabricators to develop exciting and wide ranging improvements, the majority of which has been constructed by CORMAC, including quality paving, new lighting, artworks and street furniture in Fore Street, New Cut Car Park, Station Road, Alma Place, St Rumon's Garden and many other areas in the town.

20 towns and cities across the UK submitted projects for this years award, last year the award was given to Sheffield City Centre.