A FORMER Truro mayor has said the city is in a “very serious situation” of Cornwall Council’s making.

Bert Biscoe is urging the local authority to put a mitigation plan in place to support Truro following several highly publicised moves he says have created “brand-negative messages”.

A Truro city councillor and former Cornwall councillor, Mr Biscoe has appealed to current mayor Cllr Carol Swain, asking her to write “in the strongest possible terms” to Cornwall Council’s leader Cllr Linda Taylor and chief executive Kate Kennally, to ask for support and “defend our economy and those who trade and work within it”.

His strong words come after the upper decks of the Cornwall Council-run Moorfield multi-storey car park were closed this week, a £31.50 penalty applied to anyone parking longer than three hours in Old Bridge Street’s short-stay car park, and half the spaces in Fairmantle Street coach park let to the council’s own bus company.

This has reduced the city’s capacity to accommodate holiday coaches and created a risk that thousands of passengers who spend money in Truro will now go elsewhere.

“We are now in a very serious situation, with costs to town centre traders rising, cost-of-living impacts of inflation continuing to depress consumer spending, and with the messages to customers and investors becoming increasingly negative and unwelcoming,” said Mr Biscoe.

Of the car park closure, he said: “It has been known for some considerable time that the structural condition of the Moorfield multi-storey needs to be managed carefully.”

Regarding Old Bridge Street car park, he added: “Given the current charging mechanisms in place, the assertion that the council is imposing a three to 24-hour tariff on those who stay (whether purposefully or accidentally) for over three hours is unfair.

“There is no 24-hour period chargeable for using the car park, as it is free from midnight to 9am, and costs a flat rate of £2.10 for the period 6pm to midnight.

“Indeed, if Cornwall Council charges the hourly rate of £2.30 for each of the nine hours from 9am to 6pm, and adds the £2.10 flat rate for the evening session, the total is £22.80. This renders the current alleged three to 24-hour tariff both unchargeable and an over-charge, according to charges approved in the Cornwall Parking Order 2024/25.

“A recent incident when a user refused to pay has attracted much publicity, all of it negative to Truro and supportive of that person, who was eventually arrested.”

Mr Biscoe also had strong words about the coach park: “We will not know the impact of the reduction in capacity until we see what plans are made this winter by visiting tour firms.

“The likelihood, based on anecdotal information gleaned from informal contact, is that the removal of a town centre parking base affects the quality of service, the timetabling of visits and the security of passengers, and that this is likely to deter companies from visiting Truro in future.”

In his letter to the current mayor, he added: “I ask that you write in the strongest possible terms to the leader and CEO of Cornwall Council to demand that a mitigation plan be put in place, at Cornwall Council’s expense...

“We should not accept efforts to placate us by talk of redirecting people to the park and ride. Truro relies upon a flexible combination of provision.

“I believe that Cornwall Council needs to engage with Truro … and ensure it recognises the need for fair and adequate parking for both cars and coaches, will work urgently to restore Moorfield to full capacity, will remove the penalty charge at Old Bridge Street and charge by the hour between 9am and 6pm, and will reverse the current situation at Fairmantle Street coach park so we can offer our visitor-customers a convenient, safe and substantive service.”

Cornwall Council says it will provide updates on Moorfield car park following further engineering assessments.

Concerning the coach park, the local authority has said it has contacted all local coach operators to advise them of the changes and initial feedback had been positive. “We will consider increasing the number of spaces available if there is a demonstrable need,” added a spokesperson.

The council said the £31.50 charge was introduced in Old Bridge Street car park because “we were finding that a significant number of motorists were parking there all day, essentially clogging up the car park when its purpose is to encourage a turnover of spaces and in turn increase footfall to the city centre”.

Cllr Swain says Mr Biscoe’s letter will be added to the agenda for the next full Truro City Council meeting on June 24 as an item of correspondence, so all 24 city councillors have an equal opportunity to determine the best course of action.