LAUNCESTON businesses and residents have been invited to have their say in a multi-million pound investment within the town.

Safer Greener Streets is a large-scale improvement project which has attracted £100,000 of feasibility funding from Cornwall Council’s Town Vitality Fund.

A new pop-up drop-in facility has opened at the ATI Pop-Up Innovation Centre at 12 Southgate Street.

It is being staffed by volunteers and is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 12pm to 2pm, Thursdays from 9am to 10am, and on Fridays from 3pm to 4pm.

The drop in will be on site until August 26 and anyone with an interest in the future of the town is invited to pop in and find out more about some of the proposals that are starting to emerge.

Ideas include more landscaping and seating to make streets greener to increase dwell time and boost footfall, more pedestrianised areas, better walking and cycling routes, fewer cars and bringing underused buildings back into economic and community use.

This phase of the project is about getting broad agreement on what sort of projects can enhance the town centre, how they could be delivered and what investment would be required.

The work will inform future funding bids to the Government through funding streams like the Shared Prosperity Fund and the Levelling Up Fund.

The Safer Greener Streets design team was appointed earlier this year by Launceston Town Council and is working closely with the Launceston Town Plan Group which includes the town council, Launceston Chamber of Commerce, Cornwall Council, Orchard Centre, Launceston Life and Launceston Community Development Trust.

The design team includes local firm PLACE Architects who have practiced in Launceston for 110 years and are helping to run the drop-in facility.

Tash Baskerville, operations manager at PLACE and Culture & Place Shaping Lead for Launceston Chamber of Commerce, said: “Over the next six weeks or so we want to hear from local people about what matters to them and how we can work together to develop a safer, greener town centre.”

“There’s a huge opportunity for some real transformational projects, and no idea is too outside the box!”

The feasibility study is expected to be completed in September.