Mayor says Truro can embrace boom time
THE Mayor of Truro has said he feels like the city is finally losing its “imposter syndrome” as new shops and businesses open up in what feels like a new time of boom.
Around 20 new shops have opened or are about to open in Truro, and the Pydar Street and Boscawen Park developments are on the horizon – worth over £100 million.
Hall for Cornwall has finally reopened and even the Drummer sculpture is due to return to Truro, after a long time away at the Eden Project.
To residents of the city, it feels like it is waking up again. For proud mayor Steven Webb, it is long overdue.
“There’s a good vibe about Truro at the moment,” the city councillor said. “Coming out of this economic downturn, Truro is the city of Cornwall and it’s finally growing into what it’s wanted to be for years.
“I see it as the hub for Cornwall, where people go for business and shopping,” he added.
For Truro’s mayor, the smattering of new shops represents the city becoming a real city – and finally moving into the future.
Cllr Webb pointed to the huge growth the city had in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s. This, he said, was something he feels the city has been clinging on to for some decades now.
The new premises – including bakeries, cafés, clothes shops, and even a calendar shop – alongside the Pydar Street regeneration, in the mayor’s view, indicates it has moved on to better things.
He continued: “It’s becoming more experiential, you come to Truro for lunchtime, to sit down and have a cup of tea. You can eat, stay, or even watch a show or something. My daughter finishes work early on a Friday and we often do that.”
Referring to the reopening of Cornwall’s biggest theatre, Hall for Cornwall, on Lemon Quay, Cllr Webb said groups like the farmers’ market and nearby business owners are all enjoying successes unseen for years.
“I used to joke that you could throw a welly down the high street on a weekend afternoon and it would hit no one,” he continued, “but that’s changed now. Everywhere used to close at 4pm, but now there’s that evening trade and we’re becoming more of a place to stay – and that will grow, the Pydar development will bring more students which will help.
“Whether we like it or not, things have changed and we need to complement, not compete, with the internet. Truro has realised it does have to go with the times. You can’t fight it.”
Truro is no Flambards, by Cllr Webb’s admission. He said he recognises it is not a full day out for many – but reiterated that he feels it is becoming a “hub” for the whole county.
With hundreds of beds for students, a business hub, a new Boscawen Park, more shops and more housing, the city is certainly growing.
“If Truro was a human,” Cllr Webb said, “I’ve always said it would have imposter syndrome. It’s a city, but doesn’t believe it is. I don’t care if it’s cheesy, it just feels good in the city.”