St Ives Town Deal is staging a special pop-up public expo on the ground floor of the town’s library on Monday, April 17 between 9.30am and 6pm. 

The event will provide the latest information about how the £19.9 million Town Deal funding from HM Government is being invested to deliver the vision set out in the Town Investment Plan and boost sustainable economic growth in the town. 

Hosted by the Town Deal Board, with members of the project teams on hand to talk about their exciting and ambitious plans and answer any questions, the expo will include models, plans and drawings of some of the key projects. 

The St Ives Town Deal funding supports nine transformation projects that will help develop local skills, jobs and business, provide new and upgraded housing and community facilities and support low carbon modes of transport to create a greener town centre. 

“The Town Deal is going to make a real, positive difference to the people who live, work and visit St Ives by improving current assets and funding new ones across the town” said Gareth Jones, vice-chair of St Ives Town Deal Board. 

“Since being awarded the first part of the funding from the government last September, everyone involved with the Town Deal has been working incredibly hard to develop the projects so work can start on transforming our town. 

“The aim of this Expo is to provide an opportunity for the local community to find out more about the projects, to highlight what has already been achieved, and to talk about what lies ahead.” 

The pop-up Expo is open to everyone and is free of charge. 

There is no need to book a place. 

The nine St Ives Town Deal projects are:

· Enterprise Grants Fund – grants scheme to micro, small and medium sized businesses within the St Ives Town Deal area. The Fund supports capital investments that help local businesses to grow, develop and help to diversify the local economy and generate quality local employment opportunities.

· St Ives Theatre Regeneration - led by Kidz R Us, the refurbishment of the existing theatre will provide an upgraded auditorium and new café/bar and box office area to support the future sustainability of the theatre.

· Old Vicarage Flats - run and operated by the St Ives Community Land Trust, the renovation of the Old Vicarage building will provide six high quality and affordable flats for local residents in the heart of the town.

· St Ives LiveWest Low Carbon Retrofit – a wide energy-efficient housing programme led by LiveWest to retrofit 200 social housing properties in the town, creating greener homes which are cheaper to heat and warmer to live in.

· New and updated rugby club and housing - the repositioning and refurbishment of the rugby clubhouse and training pitch on another part of the site will create space for the future development of new affordable homes for key workers and extra care housing.

· St Ives Guildhall - led by St Ives Town Council, the refurbishment of the Guildhall into a thriving cultural venue together with a café and bar space, providing a high-quality year-round programme and support new local jobs in the creative sector.

· St Ives Community Orchard Growth – a new Community Learning Centre that will deliver environmental education, workshops, skills training, repair café and community events. Connecting people with nature to restore mental health and well-being.

· Leach Pottery & St Ives Digital Trail – creation of a community hub at the Leach Pottery with a new production studio, kilns and a learning suite sustainably housed on a world class site; it will become part of a new heritage digital trail within the town.

·  Low Carbon Transport - led by Cornwall Council, this project will provide residents, business owners and visitors to St Ives with safe and reliable transport options that encourage walking, cycling and the use of public transport.