Cornwall Council has been criticised by residents of Liskeard for causing another "lockdown" in the town. It comes after the council closed a pedestrian access and reduced parking to allow for the building of its own services hub in the town, which is due to take place for 60 weeks.
The new building will cater for multiple services including a family hub, registrars, adult education and the Department of Work and Pensions. Work started last week and is due to finish in October 2025. However, many locals are unhappy and over 500 people have signed a petition calling for the public access in Liskeard to be kept open. The council says it is looking at "potential options".
Cheryl Bailey, who started the petition, said: "Closure of the ramp connecting Varley Lane to the Cattle Market car park and the substantial restriction in the number of parking spaces during 60 weeks of construction of the Integrated Services Hub is having a massive impact on hundreds of people who regularly use this access route each week.
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"Users of the route include people with severe health problems, mobility and vision problems, wheelchair users and families with pushchairs. The reduced number of parking spaces not only has an impact on users of the Varley Lane route, but restricts access to the town centre and its other facilities.
"The alternative access route suggested is felt by many to be unsafe. Part of the route is a narrow road, barely wide enough for a car, which is without street lighting or pavement. It is a sloping road with walls on either side. Available parking on the Cattle Market is very limited and other town centre car parks are further away, across main roads and lead to pedestrian access via the same restricted route. The Westbourne car park does not offer any discounts for residents on parking fees."
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She added: "People affected by these restrictions are feeling less able to leave their homes to access the town centre or to visit the local community centre for activities. Some people have likened this to a repeat of the 'lockdown'.
"It is clear that little thought or local consultation has been carried out regarding the way in which the works are to be carried out and thus the impact on the people living, working and accessing facilities in this area."
Users of the town's Liskerrett Community Centre have also been affected by the work. A Facebook page dedicated to the centre states that it has "had many distressed residents in talking about Cornwall Council's closure of the pedestrian access".
It added: "The Cornwall Council officer responsible for the Integrated Services Hub construction project has spent over an hour with Liskerrett and they are now looking at what improvements can be made to the alternative access arrangements currently in place. We are not there yet, so it's important to make sure that Cornwall Council knows how this situation impacts you."
Comments from locals include:
"It’s so important for the local residents to be able to walk safely into the town and my family as well as many others will be affected."
"Although Liskerrett Community Centre is important, the main impact of the closure will be on the residents of the Varley Lane/Thorne Terrace area, many of whom have season tickets to park in the cattle market. Also consider that these residents will have to walk down Varley Lane, which is extremely narrow and quite unsafe in places."
"This access is important for the many folk visiting the Liskerrett centre. There is insufficient parking in the centre's grounds. Whenever I go, the clientele are, like me, mainly older. Are they now expected to negotiate the very narrow Varley Lane?"
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Artist Nicky Harwood took to social media to say: "My walk to work today (in blue) compared with the usual one (in orange). Lucky not to be dragging a trolley today and even luckier to find a space! Not looking forward to a year+ of this."
A Cornwall Council spokesperson said: "We have listened to the concerns raised by the local community and are looking at potential options available to provide safe pedestrian access from the Cattle Market Car Park to the Liskerrett Centre and the Family Hub. We have written to all those with parking permits for the Cattle Market Car park to offer them parking in an alternative town centre car park, and Westbourne Car Park will soon be available on the JustPark app."
You can see the Change.org petition here.
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