A former mayor of Truro has said the city is in a “very serious situation” caused by Cornwall Council. Bert Biscoe is urging the local authority to put in place a mitigation plan to support Truro following a number of highly publicized measures which he says have created “brand negative messages”.
Mr Biscoe, Truro councilor and former Cornwall councilor, has written to current Truro Mayor Carol Swain asking him to write “in the strongest possible terms” to Cornwall Council leader Cllr Linda Taylor and its CEO Kate. Kennally to ask for support and “defend our economy and those who trade and work in it.”
His strong words come after the upper decks of the Cornwall Council-run multi-storey Moorfield car park were closed this week, alongside a £31.50 fine for anyone parking in the Old Bridge Street short-term car park for more than three hours residence of the municipality. in addition to the council’s decision to lease half of the parking spaces in the Fairmantle Street coach park to its own bus company. This has reduced the city’s capacity to adequately accommodate holiday buses and created the risk that thousands of passengers who spent money in Truro will now go elsewhere.
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“We now find ourselves in a very serious situation, with costs rising for traders in city centers, the impact of inflation on the cost of living continuing to depress consumer spending, and the messages to our customers and investors becoming increasingly negative and unwelcome.” , said Mr Koekje.
On the closure of the car park, he said: “It has been recognized for some time that the structural condition of the multi-storey Moorfield complex requires careful management.”
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In relation to the £31.50 charge on the Old Bridge Street car park, he added: “Given the current charging mechanisms in Old Bridge Street, the allegation is that the council is imposing a 3 to 24 hour charge on those who remain (intentionally or accidentally)) for more than three hours is unfair – you will not be charged for 24 hour use of the car park as it is free from midnight to 9am and costs a flat rate of £2.10 for the period from 6 p.m. to midnight.
“Indeed, if Cornwall Council charges the hourly rate (£2.30) for each of the nine hours from 9am to 6pm (£20.70), and adds the flat rate of £2.10 for the evening session adding up, the total is £22.80, making the current alleged 3 to 24 hour rate which is both uncharged and excessive, according to the charges approved in the Cornwall Parking Order 2024/25 recent incident where a user refused to pay has received a lot of publicity, all of it negative for Truro and supportive of that individual, who was ultimately arrested.”
Mr Biscoe also had strong words about the bus parking: “We will not know the impact of the capacity reduction until we see what plans are made this winter by visiting travel agents etc. The likelihood, based on anecdotal information from informal contact, is that the removal of a city center parking base will impact on the quality of service, scheduling of visits and passenger safety, and is likely to deter businesses from visiting Truro in the future.
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In his letter to the current mayor, he added: ‘I am writing to ask that you write in the strongest possible terms to the leader and CEO of Cornwall Council to demand that a mitigation plan be put in place, at the expense of the Cornwall Council. , to replace lost capacity, to eliminate punitive charges and to support the city in countering the brand negative messages caused by its recent actions. We should not accept attempts to appease us by talking about diverting people to the park and ride on a flexible combination of facilities.
“I believe that Cornwall Council should work with Truro… and ensure that it recognizes the need for fair and adequate parking for both cars and coaches, and will work urgently to return Moorfield to full capacity, and the fine at Old Bridge will abolish Street and Charge per hour between 9am and 6pm, and will reverse the current situation at the Fairmantle bus park, so we can provide a convenient, safe and substantive service to our visitor customers.
Cornwall Council says it will provide updates on the Moorfield car park following further technical assessments. As for the bus parking, the local government said it has contacted all local bus operators to inform them of the changes. The initial feedback was positive. “We will consider expanding the number of available places if there is a demonstrable need,” a spokesperson said.
The council said the £31.50 charge was introduced at the Old Bridge Street car park because “we found that a significant number of motorists were parking there all day and effectively clogging up the car park, when the purpose of it is to reduce the number of parking spaces to increase the number of visitors to the city center.”
Ms Swain says Mr Biscoe’s letter will be added as an item of correspondence to the agenda for the next full meeting of Truro City Council on June 24, so that all 24 councilors have an equal opportunity to determine the best course of action.