Newquay Town Council submitted a stage-two funding bid under the Coastal Community Fund for just under £500,000 to enhance the Killacourt® in Newquay. The bid was approved and plans began to transform the Killacourt®, retaining it as an important green space that can continue to be relevant for growing events and economic activity.

12 April 2021 – Killacourt® Soft Opening

Newquay Town Council is proud to announce the soft opening of the Killacourt® on Monday 12^th April after months of hard work to enhance this green space in the heart of Newquay.

The Town Council submitted a stage-two funding bid under the Coastal Community Fund for just under £500,000 to enhance the Killacourt® in Newquay. The bid was approved under the condition that Newquay Town Council owned the freehold of the area, made it accessible for all and created employment to ensure the sustainability of the site.

The Council’s overall aim of the Killacourt® enhancements has always been to protect the views, not to impact neighbouring properties, to create better use of the land, improve accessibility across the entire site, to boost events and ultimately increase footfall to Newquay’s Town Centre.

The works involved in the Killacourt® Enhancement Project have included new up-lit seating, landscape planting and levelling of all paths and groundworks throughout the site to make the area accessible to all – helping wheelchair users, those with mobility issues and indeed buggies, prams, and pushchairs to have full use of the Killacourt®.

Newquay Town Council has also been working alongside Inclusive Care Solutions to install and register a new Changing Places Facility at the previous ice cream hut. Ultimately in keeping with the vision of making the area more accessible and tackling inequality, it was felt this would be the perfect place for a Changing Places facility.

There have been various improvements to the bandstand – the original structure remains; however new cladding and doors have been added with an accessible ramp and performance area. A local company named Oltco have installed a Recycle Base around the performance area of the bandstand, to replace tarmac as a preferred option for ground reinforcement. Recycle Base is made up of stone and low-grade recycled ocean plastic and utilises the equivalent of 37,500 plastic straws per m2. In total, the Killacourt® performance area has recycled the equivalent of 2.8 million straws!

Newquay Town Council will be using the Killacourt® green space to host its annual community events, including the Summer Finale, Newquay Sessions throughout the summer and a new “Feel the Love Season Opener” in May. Newquay Farmer’s Market will also be operating from the site on the last Sunday of every month, starting from Sunday 25^th April.

Finally, 12 new Enterprise Units have been built along the curtilage of the Killacourt® and a café behind the bandstand to provide opportunities for small businesses that cannot afford the high rents of the Town Centre and allow them a space to grow and develop. The aim of the units and cafe is to bring footfall to the Town Centre and encourage people to also browse the High Street shops. The businesses that will be operating out of the Enterprise Units are as follows: The Beet Box Café, Tide & Seek, Earring Cabin, Dreya Glass, Nearly New(quay) Clothing Company, Killa Walls, Four Legs Cornwall, Love Cork, Melo, Rock & Ritual, Mend, & Sloth Productions.

The green space and Enterprise Units are now OPEN and ready to welcome locals and visitors as the government lockdown is eased and people are able to holiday in Cornwall again. You can view all the exciting new businesses and their products at: www.Newquay.gov.uk/killacourt/. Please note that although the majority of the site is complete, some aesthetic work does still need to be finished, including the coastal planting scheme and the entrance area at the top of the site. Some fencing will also remain whilst the grass becomes established. Newquay Town Council would like to ask everyone to please respect the site whilst the final work is being completed.

A spokesperson from Newquay Town Council commented: “We are so happy to finally open the newly enhanced Killacourt® to the public ahead of the summer season. A huge thanks must go to our contractors for undertaking the works despite the pandemic and to all the staff and members at Newquay Town Council for obtaining the funding and pushing forwards with the project. We would also like to welcome all the fantastic new businesses to the Killacourt. We can’t wait to watch them thrive and for locals and visitors to enjoy everything the Killacourt® now has to offer.”

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Newquay Town Council was granted £499,702 by the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund as part of a new round of grants worth £36 million to projects up and down the Great British Coast. The Killacourt® is one of 20 projects across the south west which will benefit from over £15.4 million from this round of coastal communities funding to help develop and improve tourist attractions, create jobs and promote socio-economic growth.

Newquay Town Council’s bid captured the interest of the Government’s Coastal Community Fund, which outlined the need to see investment in the Killacourt, in order to retain it as an important green space that can continue to be relevant for events and increase footfall to the town.

The Original Plan

Written July 2019

Whilst all subject to obtaining the necessary consents, approvals and consulting with stakeholders; a Master Plan of the Killacourt® has been designed, focusing on business ‘incubator units’ placed on the curtilage of the Killacourt®; providing opportunities for small businesses and sole traders/community groups to hire out the units for events and on a flexible basis to trade goods and services; with a priority on goods that are not provided elsewhere in the Town.

There will also be investment and various improvements in the band-stand and kiosk area as well as accessibility improvements to all pavements, which are planned to be up-lit of an evening with new sustainable tree planting – helping those with buggies or indeed wheelchair users to have full use of the Killacourt®. Modern features such as noise reducing fencing and planting seek to reduce the impact of existing and growing events on neighbouring properties, whilst also protecting or indeed improving their existing views and vistas.

Newquay Town Council are in negotiation with existing tenants, to release the white fencing and create a completely open space, doubling the area for events. The kiosk will also be replaced with a Farmer’s Market, and a restaurant/café will be built behind the bandstand, overlooking the iconic Island House. However, these aspects may be undertaken as part of a later phase of the project owing to existing agreements and permissions.

There are no plans agreed yet for the Cornwall Council memorial benches. They may be moved, or they may be made into stone plaques in the amphitheatre with consent of those who have sited them on the Killacourt. This also applies to the Cornwall Pride benches, which may be moved to the bottom right of the site, which is a disused area at present. The Beatles boulder is also likely to be moved into the Mediterranean planting area and made more prominent, but again this is detail that is still to be worked out.

There will be a sympathetic CCTV security system implemented on site too. Whilst the Killacourt® isn’t an attractive area for crime, we are conscious this is right in the Town Centre and with the improvements there is likely to be higher evening footfall, so we are keen to ensure everyone feels safe and prevent crime.

The overall aim of the Killacourt® enhancements are to protect the views, not to impact neighbouring properties, to create better use of the land, to boost events and ultimately increase footfall to Newquay’s Town Centre.

COST BREAKDOWN

• The project has a total capital cost of circa £850-950,000.
• £499,702 has been granted by the Coastal Community Fund
• £120,000 secured from Section 106 Developer’s money
• £20,000 insurance monies from Cornwall Council potentially
• Further funding is being sought from CLLD/LEADER funding and Town Council capital reserves

ESTIMATED INCOME

It is estimated that £25,200 of income will be generated from the site in the first full year.

OTHER GRANTS AND FUNDING

Newquay Town Council are also seeking additional grants and funding. They require £233,000, which they aim to acquire through a mix of Newquay Town Council’s private fund and by approaching more 106 money from Cornwall Council.

Newquay Town Council do wish to obtain funding from Cornwall Council; however, it may have a better impact on the project to only use the Newquay Town Council Reserve. The Town Council currently have £185,000 in their Localism Reserve, and £200,000 in their capital reserve that could be used if needed. However, this would be based on the freehold of the site being held by the Town Council.

EXPECTED TIMELINE:

*Please note, this timeline is subject to change, Newquay Town Council will not be responsible for any costs occurred due to the information held within this page