People reacting to news of a £58m masterplan to revive St Austell’s town centre are offering their own suggestions for how the community’s fortunes could be improved.

Barry Blunden said: “First hour parking free and put a roof over the town, if you’re dry and warm you tend to spend more time walking around shopping, rather than rushing around for your one main shop.”

Nigel Parish said:

“My plan would be

“1. Get rid of all the druggies

“2. Get rid of the half way houses.

“3. Do away with business rates.

“4. Stop St Austell Bid (Business Improvement District) wasting money on rubbish

“5. Get Cornish flags flying and promote St Austell as a proper Cornish market town

“6. Get the landlords to repair, clean and paint the shops.

“All I hear every day is swearing and shouting and some days fighting in the street or church yard.”

Stephen White responded: “Maybe St Austell needs to be a market town again. Stalls twice a week?”

And Steven Morgan agreed: “Exactly. No need to waste a further 58 million.”

Debbie Delara thought things were improving: “Every town has their problems! Cosgarne Hall doing an amazing job, they drive round several times a day making sure their clients are not hanging round the town. Police may not be present but they turn up as soon as a call is made.

“Everyone blames ‘the pond life’ but that’s not the problem.

“If the bigger chains came, then the smaller business ones would sink!

“It’s towns in general that are dying because of our different spending habits, that’s the problem!”