Work re-starts on delayed £170m regeneration scheme

Work has resumed on the final phase of demolition of a major regeneration project in Cornwall after the project stalled three years ago.

The £170m Pydar development in Truro will include new offices, retail units and housing and a university centre with 400 student flats.

As part of the build, the old Carrick District Council offices and the viaduct car park were demolished, but nothing has happened on the site since summer 2022.

Treveth, Cornwall Council’s arms length development company, said interest rates needed to drop before the scheme could be financially viable.

Planning permission for the development project was granted in 2021 but the project has been hampered by increased costs due to higher interest rates and extra building regulations bought in after the Grenfell disaster.

The council had to pump an extra £10m in March 2024 to cover increased project costs.

Tim Mulholland, chief executive of Treveth, told BBC News: “It’s been very frustrating for everybody that we’ve had a two-year hiatus but we’re back on.

“Part of the delay was due to to existing tenancy agreements in the former retail units and the bowling alley, but those have now come to an end.

“The Building Safety Act, which was a consequence of Grenfell, came into play which affects all buildings in excess of six metres.”

He said interest rates were still too high for the loan the project needed, which “takes the scheme out of financial viability”.

Work has now resumed on demolishing the remaining buildings on the site but the completion date for the project has not been confirmed.

Mulholland said: “The build out programme should take about six years.

“At the moment our workers are stripping the interior of the remaining buildings before the hazardous waste (asbestos) is removed.

“Depending on environmental factors, we hope to see the bulldozers back here in April.”