Members of Liskeard Forum heard at their recent meeting that remedial work will be carried out on the Parade before Easter and is expected to take three or four weeks.

Chairman John Ryder said the main problem which had caused damage to the road surface was the sheer volume of traffic.

The meeting was asked if a weight limit for the centre of the town could be considered and the chairman said the county council had considered a 44 tonne weight limit but deliveries needed to be made to premises in the centre of Liskeard.

Tony Wood suggested that lorries could be diverted away from the town centre.

The Forum will approach the county council to find out if any more can be done.

Town councillor John Mashiter told Liskeard Forum that the elderly and disabled were experiencing a lot of problems with access to the shops because of lack of disabled parking places and the places available were being used by people who were not entitled to park there.

He said a simple answer would be to provide a parking area with barriers, with those entitled to disabled parking having keys.

The chairman said the matter could be put into the proposed plan for the town.

Caradon official Steve Vinson gave members of Liskeard Forum an informative talk on Objective One funding.

He said application forms would be out by May and the first money would be available by September if applications were accepted.

There were, he told members, five basic areas which would be acceptable to gain Objective One funding, which is aimed at providing employment and the development of the region, economic progress and output.

1. Industrial and small businesses. 2. Big projects, such as Broadmoor in Saltash. 3. Development of people - education and training, Credit Unions, CAB etc. 4. Projects like Leader 11, community based and smaller projects. 5 Cultural and regional - food, tourism, boats building etc

The grants are variable, ranging from 20 per cent to 75 per cent, but the higher ones are exceptional. The average would be between 40 and 45 per cent and those applying would have to look for match funding.

A member of the public, Mr Malcolm Mort, asked Mr Vinson if it was likely that Webb's Hotel could gain a grant to be used as a training centre for the disabled if someone came along and bought it for that purpose. Mr Vinson said that education projects, which were state funded, would not gain funding, skills training leading to employment might.

Forum members were told that the sale of Webbs Hotel seemed to be moving ahead, with three proposals on the table. 'Fingers crossed again', said one member.

Alan Hartridge asked when the plants for the Parade were to be installed and was told that Browns Nursery would be supplying them in about two or three weeks. The broken granite post would be replaced.

Four applications for Community Funds were discussed and agreed by the Forum.

Liskeard Library asked for help in erecting the Millennium Town Mural, which depicts artifacts relating to the life of Liskeard both historical and current. £400 was agreed. Liskeard town council asked for money to purchase lightweight folding tables for community use which would be used for community purposes such as tabletop sales, buffets, the WI markets etc. They were granted £500.

Liskeard Shoppers Guide and Business Directory asked for £500 to help towards the total cost of £3,000 and this was granted. Finally, the Public Hall Feasibility study was given £300.

Bernard Wooster has been elected to be the Liskeard Chamber of Commerce representative on the Forum. Mr Bobby Muchmore has replaced Mr Alex Yabsley.

Jane Pascoe told the meeting that the appeal by Safeway into refusal to allow an extension at their Liskeard store is to be held on March 18. The meeting agreed to send a letter to express their objections and opposition to the plan.