Lostwithiel

The Early Years 2001 to 2004

In February 2001 about a dozen people in business in Lostwithiel gathered in the Restormel Lodge Hotel to consider how advantage might be taken of the several sources of funding apparently available then with a view to achieving the regeneration of the Town. About that time, the economy of the Town was depressed with many retail premises standing empty. The result of that first meeting was two fold. First, the Lostwithiel Business Group was set up. It now has over 60 members and is actively supporting and generating business in the Town.

Then in May 2001 the Lostwithiel Town Forum (later Area Forum) was constituted. Its aim was then, and remains today, the economic and social regeneration of Lostwithiel. In the autumn of 2001 the Forum became aware of a new move by the government – the introduction of the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative. This was designed to provide funds for local communities to determine what it was that the communities wanted to bring about, with ideas coming from the grass roots rather than being imposed by statutory bodies higher up the chain of government. An application for MCTi status was made in the autumn of 2001 and it was granted, eventually, in the spring of 2003.

In anticipation of funding, a Town Survey was carried out in early 2003 which sought opinions and ideas from every household in the Town, and from our adjacent parishes of St Veep, St Winnow, Lanlivery, Luxulyan and St Sampson.

When funds became available an office was established in the Town on Quay Street and two Community Agents were appointed, one for administration and one for development.

To prepare the background for a strategic plan a so-called ‘Health Check’ – an assessment of current County, Borough and Town plans and of the current situation in the town – was completed. Meanwhile, at different stages of development, plans were being devised by the adjacent parishes for their own regeneration.

During the winter months of 2003 and early in 2004, focus groups involving a large number of business people and residents of Lostwithiel and its surrounding area examined ideas thrown up by the survey. In the context of the health check the groups worked under the headings of Environment, the Economy, Social Issues and Road Usage.

At the same time, funded separately and outside the MCTi programme, a study of the River Fowey within the boundaries of the Town was completed by Hyder Consulting Ltd of Plymouth.

The outcome of all this work and of discussions held widely in and around the town is that the Lostwithiel Area Action Plan 2004-2024 has been put together. With this plan, in which a great number of local residents have been involved, we are now in a position to begin to identify, define and cost specific projects with a view to bidding for funds from statutory and other bodies. By doing so we hope to improve the economic and social prospects of the town and of those adjacent parishes which look to Lostwithiel for some of the services they need.