A CONTROVERSIAL scheme to remove parking bays in Newquay town centre and create a cycle lane is due to get underway on Monday (January 19).

Trail pit investigations at Cliff Road will start ahead of removing 18 short-term parking spaces and installing a cycle lane “later this year” as part of the £58.6 million Mid Cornwall Metro scheme to make the roads around Newquay Train Station safer for walkers and cyclists

Cornwall Council plans to widen the current footways on Cliff Road with a dedicated segregated cycle lane, and a new pedestrian crossing built outside Rebellion. The bus stops will be improved and extended and the loading bays relocated.

The scheme also involves converting Tolcarne Road car park into a long stay car park and extending free parking at Newquay Railway Station from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.

There will be a further eight on-street parking spaces created on Oakleigh Terrace, which will allow free parking for up to an hour, and three new disabled parking bays on Cliff Road outside Wetherspoons.

A spokesperson for Cormac said: “As part of the Mid Cornwall Metro Active Travel project, we are preparing for the main construction works scheduled to begin later this year.

“Ahead of this, we need to carry out trial pit investigations along Cliff Road which will commence on January 19, for a period of approximately seven weeks.

“Between Oakleigh Terrace and Narrowcliff, around 62 trial pits will be excavated in the footways, highway, and highway edges at various locations.

“We have already completed Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys to identify utility services.

“However, utility providers have requested more information is obtained before they can determine whether these services can be diverted or lowered before the main works begin. Trial pits help engineers examine the soil beneath the surface.

“This allows them to gather accurate information about ground conditions, structural stability, and check for any contamination. These findings are essential for planning and designing the main construction works. “To provide a safe place of work for the team, we will use signing, lighting, and guarding for most locations. However, for the trial pits that are on the highway itself, two-way traffic lights will be in place. There will also be some temporary parking restrictions at times.

“We will do everything possible to reduce disruption and keep disturbance to an absolute minimum and are very grateful to everyone for their support and patience.”

The service between Newquay and Par, which currently has trains every two hours, will double to hourly sometime in 2026 as part of the Mid Cornwall Metro scheme.

A new rail passing loop at Tregoss Moor will allow trains to pass each other. This will enable local and long-distance services to operate concurrently, meaning local services can run all year round, giving an additional 700,000 seats both ways on the line, each year.

There will be changes to the intermediate station calling pattern in the train timetable.

Newquay, Par, and Quintrell Downs will see an hourly service frequency. Smaller stations, St Columb Road, Roche, Bugle and Luxulyan will retain a two-hourly frequency.

It is proposed that all Newquay branch line services will extend to St Austell, Truro, Penryn and Falmouth in the future.

Anyone who has any questions or concerns about the works can telephone 0300 1234 222 or email [email protected]