Archaeologists will be moving on to the bulldozed site of the £170 million Pydar regeneration scheme in the new year.

The first phase of demolition work started this year on the development, which will see the former Carrick District Council site transformed with more than 300 homes, student accommodation and a university hub, an hotel, plus shops, restaurants, cafes and offices and riverside open spaces.

Inner Circle Consulting is working for Cornwall Council to liaise with the public and Truro Council on the scheme, and has been gathering feedback and opinions on everything from planting to building materials.

Director James Windsor spoke to the Voice about how the project is going.

He said: “It is a long process and we have been working on it for more than four years but now the first phase of buildings have been demolished and the site levelled ready for the next stage.

“Archeology work is starting in the new year and we hope to be uncovering the old isolation hospital which was on the site. We’re also going to see if we can find some of the old houses on what was Boscawen Road, including the old farmhouse.”

Mr Windsor explained there have been some finds discovered already, such as bits of pipes, milk bottles and wine bottles.

Consultations have been taking place so people can have a say on the designs and materials and last week, a detailed planning application was submitted to Cornwall Council for the first phase, involving the land in front of the viaduct.

Mr Windsor said: “We’ve done so much around consulting the community to ensure people have fed into the ideas, and most of the feedback has been positive.

“People have said there isn’t enough in Truro at the moment in the way of nightlife like bars and restaurants, as well as inner city housing in the rental market. Falmouth University’s academy has been welcomed for bringing more young people into the city.”

It is hoped councillors will give a decision on the application in the spring and the archeology work will be going on until the summer.

“We then hope to be starting work towards the end of the summer on properly levelling and putting in some services,” Mr Windsor explained.

“The main works will probably be early 2024, and in 2026 people will see the first apartments going on sale, with the university block open for the 2027 academic year. This is ground-breaking for Cornwall – there haven’t really been any urban regeneration schemes of this scale for some time.”