Cornwall council selects firm to masterplan regeneration of Pydar neighbourhood

The Pydar neighbourhood in Truro, for which PRP has been appointed to create regeneration plans

Source: Graham Gaunt

The Pydar neighbourhood in Truro, for which PRP has been appointed to create regeneration plans

Architecture firm PRP has been appointed to draw up a blueprint for the 300-home regeneration of the Pydar neighbourhood in Truro.

Cornwall council selected the multi-disciplinary firm to come up with proposals to deliver the new homes alongside new workplaces, shops, restaurants, cultural facilities and a park for the city, which is the county’s administrative capital.

The 4ha regeneration area currently hosts a range of commercial and industrial occupants – and a significant amount of surface parking.

PRP said its brief for the site’s new homes specified an element of student accommodation and housing for older people as part of a drive to create a new “inter-generational” community.

The student offer also includes “a digitally focused and entrepreneurial” live-work development for Falmouth University, collaborative working space for start-ups, offices, a village hall, cafés and restaurants, a highline walk, nature trails, climbing walls and other sports facilities.

The Pydar neighbourhood in Truro, for which PRP has been appointed to create regeneration plans

Source: Graham Gaunt

View to the east of Truro’s Pydar neighbourhood

PRP senior partner Manisha Patel said the practice’s work so far with stakeholder events for the project had found a “genuine desire” to transform Pydar.

“Our aim is to build on these aspirations and the need to transform this unique part of Truro, which has become industrialised, into a new hub for the local residents and visitors through new amenities, attractive public spaces and a stronger night-time economy,” she said.

PRP expects to submit an application for its Pydar masterplan before the end of his year.

Truro has a population below 20,000, earning it a place in the top 10 of the UK’s smallest cities.