THE pedestrianisation of Callington’s high street has been stalled after the town team’s funding proposal was rejected last week. 

Callington Town Team, which is made up of some of the councillors from Callington Town Council, submitted a funding bid to Cornwall Council as part of the Government’s Levelling Up Programme for a plan which would see pedestrians take priority on Fore Street. 

Councillor Mike Moore, Chair of the town team which is separate to the town council said: ‘We submitted a funding proposal in September to support a pedestrianisation system in the centre of town. That is stalled at the moment as Cornwall Council said there was a problem with our proposal.

‘We are still looking to continue a semi-pedestrianisation scheme in Callington that would involve one-way traffic in Fore Street.’

Cllr Moore said that pedestrianising Fore Street would slow down traffic and enable the high street to be developed. 

‘It would stop the fast flow of through traffic’, said Cllr Moore.

‘Pedestrians ideally would have priority, and any vehicles going through would have to go at walking pace.’

The area the team wanted to be pedestrianised is a short stretch of about 100m or so from the junction with Well Street to the junction with New Road. The main part of Fore Street. 

‘It would allow us to tidy us the centre of town’, said Cllr Moore.

He added: ‘We can use some of the space that is freed up, to potentially widen the pavement and put in permanent structures such as for planting small trees, shrubs, flowers and create a nicer environment along Fore street. 

‘Hopefully this will also then draw in coffee shops and things like that and bring people into town.’ 

Cllr Moore also explained that the new system plan would ideally create more town centre parking spaces too. 

The idea for pedestrianisation is said to have come from public feedback from the town’s residents. 

‘It’s what people have wanted from surveys and questionnaires that we have carried out last year and over the last few years’, said Cllr Moore.

However, not all Callington councillors are in favour of the proposal.

Portreeve, Sue Tolman said she believed it would cause ‘chaos in the town’ 

‘I think there are far more things needed in Callington for the people,’ she said.

Although the proposal has been rejected for the time being, Cllr Moore explained that the town team is in the process of looking at how it can tweak its proposal or resubmit it.

‘It is an aspiration and we are trying to get funding’, he said.