Truro's controversial sewage works postponed

The start date for work to replace sewage pipes in the centre of Truro has been pushed back. At a meeting attended by concerned traders, MP Sarah Newton, Truro City Council and the Truro BID team, representatives from South West Water agreed to delay the start of the project and to carry it out in phases until March 2015.

The planned work was due to start in April and would have been ongoing for over a year. Victoria Square, Kenwyn Street and Little Castle Street were set to be closed for the entire duration, with many other changes being made to roads in the vicinity.

During the recent meeting, the Truro BID Team expressed concern that businesses they represent could suffer from considerable loss of trade as a result of the works. It's now hoped the agreed changes will minimise the impact on local traders.

It was also agreed that the BID team would liaise closely with South West Water to take up any concerns raised by local businesses while Sarah Newton will chair quarterly stakeholder meetings as the works progress.

Commenting on the meeting, Mrs Newton said:

"This is a challenging time for Truro and it is good to see the BID team, City Council, Cornwall Council and local businesses working together with South West Water to agree a way forward.

"The works proposed by South West water represent a major investment in the City's infrastructure, and will ensure that the local sewer system is fit for the twenty first century. I am hopeful that these works can now go ahead whilst causing the least possible disruption to hard working local business people, local residents, and the City as a whole.

I am particularly pleased that the City's past will be respected, as the works will now only go ahead following archaeological surveys of key sites- including the site of Truro's mediaeval priory.

"I will continue to work closely with South West Water, the City Council, and the BID team to ensure that local businesses are fully supported as these works take place.''

Graham Murphy, South West Water's Director of Engineering, said:

"This was a really positive meeting and we are grateful to Mrs Newton for agreeing to chair it for us. We are aware that the scheme has the potential to cause disruption, which is why we wanted to establish a liaison group to work closely with the local community to put in place measures to minimise the impact of this essential work."

Neil Scott, Business Improvement District Manager at Totally Truro added:

"Clearly this is a large, complex project and businesses are quite rightly concerned about the impact on their trading fortunes – last week's meeting was an important step in established a productive way forward to ensure that these works are undertaken with their needs being heard and attended to. I look forward to this partnership approach over the coming months and onwards to the completion of the works."