LOCAL people are being encouraged to attend an event and have their say on plans for a new building at the former Cattle Market in Liskeard. 

The three-storey Service Hub will house the local authority’s Registrars, Adult Education, Adult Day Services, Family Hub, Safe and Well, and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), replacing some existing Cornwall Council-owned properties in Liskeard. Combining the services under one roof means that the Council will able to cut its operating expenses and carbon footprint, it says. 

Concern from local people over the project so far is focused mostly on the loss of more than 60 car parking spaces: the Council, in its transport statement, says that the Cattle Market car park has the capacity to absorb this loss.

It says that staff working at the new building will follow the arrangements already in place for Cornwall Council employees and park in the town centre car parks, including at Westbourne. The local authority highways officer has commented that they wish to see data demonstrating that the adjacent car park can cope with the displaced parking – and that this analysis is missing from the plans submitted. 

The Liskeard Chiropractic Clinic is among those most concerned about this aspect of the scheme: it says that the planning application submitted will affect land that is within its ownership, currently used for parking, and that this has been done without any prior consultation. Access to the clinic’s parking spaces will be limited because of the development, say the owners. 

Further comments from local people left on the planning website include the suggestion that utilising existing empty properties in the town centre would be preferable to building a new one. 

A drop-in event for people to see the plans is set to take place on Monday (January 16) at the Public Hall, between 9am-12 noon.

 Anyone wanting to know more, or who can’t attend and wants to leave their feedback online, should visit https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/liskeard-service-hub.