As work begins on demolition and development at the landmark Penwinnick Road council offices site in St Austell, we look back at a few of the significant events to have taken place there in recent years.

Cornwall Council is to demolish its offices to make way for a mixed-use development which will provide up to 180 homes.

The council is to move into Carlyon House in the town before eventually taking up a new base in White River Place.

Formerly the main base of the former Restormel Borough Council, the offices remained as Cornwall Council’s main offices in St Austell but have been considered a prime redevelopment site.

Protesters hand over a petition to Gareth Pirwell, then chief executive of Restormel Borough Council, about the erection of a mobile phone mast in Bethel, March 2007
Protesters hand over a petition to Gareth Pirwell, then chief executive of Restormel Borough Council, about the erection of a mobile phone mast in Bethel, March 2007: (Voice Newspapers)

St Austell Mayor Pat Harvey and deputy Jackie Bell with their helpers, May 2007
St Austell Mayor Pat Harvey and deputy Jackie Bell with their helpers, May 2007: (Voice Newspapers)

A protest outsidde the council offices against plans for an incinerator at St Dennis, in July 2008
A mass protest against plans for a waste incinerator at St Dennis took place at Penwinnick Road in July 2008: (Voice Newspapers)

Last meeting of St Austell Town Council before elections April 2013
The last meeting of St Austell Town Council before local elections in April 2013: (Voice Newspapers)

A community governance review inside the council offices in St Austell in September 2019
(Voice Newspapers)