Following a planning application submitted to Cornwall Council in August 2024, Newham BID objected to the application for the access element on safety grounds. Our planning objection can be seen here.
The planning application can be viewed here: https://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SG1PDGFGHL100
Following Newham BID’s representation at Truro City Council’s planning committee in March 2025, councillors voted to object to the planning application on similar grounds to Newham BID, that of safety. This article references their objection: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/25018345.lifting-bridge-truro-operational-design-changes/
According to the Truro Town Deal media release 8th December, Newham BID understands that alongside planning consent for the bridge, there will be a submission of a pre-application for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) to the Department for Transport. The TWAO is required to alter the rights of navigation for the Truro River and is an extensive piece of work requiring surveys to inform an Environmental Statement. It is anticipated that the full application for the TWAO will be submitted spring 2026. Newham BID understands that it can take up to two years for the TWAO to be granted.
In order to account for the extended period required for environmental and statutory approvals, Cornwall Council has taken steps to safeguard the delivery of Lighterage Bridge beyond the spending period for Town Deal funding. With a squeeze on local authority spending, it is not clear where the additional funding will come from.
Newham BID awaits further information on the highways access to the bridge and the opportunity to object; our understanding is that the diagonal access plan remains as part of the project which Newham BID strongly believes to be highly unsafe.
Newham BID continues to apply pressure with officers and councillors and will exercise our right to object at Truro City Council meetings and Cornwall Council meetings when the revised planning application is considered. Truro City Council previously refused to give their consent for the initial planning application submitted in August 2024 before it was withdrawn in June 2025.
Newham BID representatives welcomed the opportunity to meet with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Dan Rogerson on 4th September to discuss the access issues on site. Cllr Rogerson also visited MacSalvors and took up the opportunity to ride in a crane and view the safety issues highlighted from the perspective of a HGV driver.
Further information was sent to Cllr Dan Rogerson following the meeting, including the TPA Assessment and a link to our film. We appreciate Cllr Rogerson’s time and the opportunity to give him key information about the importance and economic worth of Newham Industrial Estate. We reiterated that Newham BID is neutral on the bridge but objects to the access associated with the bridge and has taken issue with Cornwall Council’s Road Safety Audit which is also found to be flawed by experienced transport consultants, TPA.
Newham BID remains of the view that Cornwall Council should provide a separate footpath and widen the road to ensure there is safe and suitable access for all; a solution of a cantilevered path alongside a widened road was the Council’s own proposal in a feasibility study carried out during 2015/16 and is available to read at the link under Road Narrowing Story.
During the summer of 2025, Newham BID understands that the bridge planning application was withdrawn: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/25250048.newham-bridge-plan-withdrawn-build-cheaper-option/ and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2ky47j3zjo#:~:text=A%20planning%20application%20for%20a,the%20latest%20news%20for%20Cornwall
Newham BID understands that Cornwall Council commissioned a bridge expert to reconsider the design of the bridge following rising costs leading to a shortfall in the Town Deal Budget. Whilst Cornwall Council had agreed to allocate funds from its Active Travel budget, the consultant was invited to look at a swing rather than a lifting bridge which it was hoped would be a cheaper solution. Press reports suggest that Cornwall Council has wasted more than £1million on considering the lifting bridge option which has seemingly been abandoned.
Alongside the costs issue, Newham BID understood that the manual operation and maintenance of the bridge have not been considered; it is not clear who will operate the bridge or who will pick up the costs of this.
Furthermore, it would appear that mariners have not been consulted. Newham BID understands that the Port of Truro Stakeholder Group that represents maritime interests of river users has expressed serious concerns over the safety of craft negotiating a bridge in the absence of suitable waiting pontoons or other arrangements.
Newham BID does not object to the bridge but to the access arrangements as per the information for March and June 2025 below.
Cornwall Council met with Newham businesses on 25th February 2025 to present their access proposals associated with the proposed lifting bridge at Lighterage Quay, part of the Truro Loops scheme, funded via Truro Town Deal, an economic programme. The access proposals, first seen by businesses in June 2024, focus on the busy Lighterage Hill/Newham Road junction; the Council's proposal is to bring pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities from the Newham Trail, down Lighterage Hill and across Newham Road to access the new bridge. Cyclists and pedestrians wishing to access the bridge from Truro City Centre will most likely take the shortest route along Newham Road where the road is narrow and winds rather than take the steep climb up Gas Hill to access the trail.
In Newham BID's opinion, cyclists and pedestrians will find themselves in conflict with road users including HGVs accessing industrial premises located at the far end of Newham. All businesses attending both the June and February meetings have serious concerns about the safety of the designed scheme and the impact it will have on our trading estate. We have repeatedly asked Cornwall Council to consider segregating pedestrians and cyclists whilst widening and repairing the road, a scheme that was on the Council's own transport plan for more than a decade.
Newham BID are neutral on the bridge as a project but are against the access proposals presented. We understand that the road safety audit for the Council's preferred scheme has been endorsed by the Highways Team and will be submitted as part of the planning application this Spring. Three statutory objections have been submitted regarding the bridge from Truro City Council (on safety grounds similar to Newham BID), Natural England and The Environment Agency. The Police also had concerns about the scheme.
The documents are below and the road safety audit which flags serious risks and the visuals can be seen here.
Newham BID have commissioned experienced transport consultants, TPA, to assess Cornwall Council’s proposals including their safety audit. To read their assessment please click here .
The press release can be seen here. The article used at Cornwall Live can be read here.
Newham BID was originally established in 2013 following widespread interest from businesses to work together to solve an issue: widening the road between Gas Hill and Lighterage Hill to enable safer vehicular access whilst at the same time creating a cantilevered path for cyclists and motorists.
During 2016, CORMAC worked with Newham BID on a preferred solution but due to a lack of funding, the road widening scheme has not been implemented. It has, however, remained on Cornwall Council’s transport programme awaiting a suitable funding opportunity. At various times since 2016, Newham has revisited the potential to realise the CORMAC designed scheme with our statutory partners. Download CORMAC Feasibility Study . At that time and until early 2023, Newham BID was appreciative of CORMAC's support of widening roads on Newham albeit funds had not been identified to do so.
In 2019, Newham BID supported the principle of Truro Loops and provided input to the consultants on the feasibility study. That support was always on the proviso that the needs and requirements of businesses operating on a busy industrial estate were observed and respected and that safety was paramount to any proposals.
Newham BID delivers a range of projects and services as well as representing its levy paying businesses. Newham is a welcoming community where businesses appreciate that a riverside location and nearby Newham Trail encourages people to visit the area.
During 2022, following an award of £23.6M for Truro from the Town Deal Fund, Cornwall Council submitted a proposal for a footpath/cycle way between Gas Hill and Lighterage Hill to link with a proposal for a bridge across to Boscawen Park; this path proposal was for a footpath in the verge which had previously been discarded as being unsafe by the statutory authorities themselves in favour of the road widening scheme mentioned above.
Following representation from businesses on Newham, a meeting was held in November 2022 to discuss concerns that these proposals did not address the real need for the road to be widened alongside any pedestrian or cycle improvements. It seemed to be a missed opportunity to solve two issues together and provide suitable and safe vehicle and pedestrian access as per CORMAC's previous stance. At the same time, concerns around the reconfiguration of the road at the entrance to Newham prompted another letter from Newham BID on behalf of businesses who again had real safety concerns.
At the same November 2022 meeting, officers within CORMAC mentioned in passing that they were considering narrowing the road to accommodate a shared cycle/footpath as part of Truro Loops (now linked to Town Deal and the new bridge). Businesses reacted strongly with their safety concerns and at that meeting, officers from CORMAC reassured circa 20 businesses attending that they would use the Boscawen side of the river for leisure use and leave Newham unchanged given its commercial nature. This later turned out not to be the case as per the information below.
Despite assurances in November 2022 given to Newham businesses, in February 2023, it came to light that there were a number of proposals being put forward under the Truro Loops scheme to implement changes across Newham including a narrowing of the carriageway on Newham Road and narrowing of Lighterage Hill to encourage pedestrians and cyclists to use Newham. This was counter to what businesses had been told three months earlier and there had been no communication in between time. When this information became apparent, businesses met with representatives from Cornwall Council/CORMAC to voice their concerns to these proposals and suggest safer alternatives which included using the existing riverside paths (consents could be organised with the help of Newham BID) or using land above Newham. Businesses were shocked to hear that 'policy comes before safety' voiced by a Council representative at this meeting and witnessed by the 20 businesses present.
Newham BID, working on behalf of its business community, has responded to feedback on these various schemes and copies of the consultation letter and other documents can be downloaded here.
It should be noted that businesses on Newham are keen to play their part in being ‘green’ and reducing carbon emissions where it is practical to do so; however, it is likely that the Newham road narrowing scheme will slow down vehicles adding to carbon emissions.
Newham BID has always welcomed the opportunity to discuss and work with our statutory partners on schemes that create better access for all and do not undermine Newham’s primary role as an industrial estate. Newham is home to circa 180 businesses employing more than 1,200 people; collectively, these businesses generate millions of pounds of turnover, trading nationally and internationally and importantly, carrying out many thousands of vehicle movements daily. The combined rateable value of our industrial estate is equivalent to some small town centres in Cornwall.
Our Estate is thriving and sought after as a place to work and invest and an important economic hub for Truro. Throughout the pandemic, when town centres were largely closed, Newham was busy providing essential services: public transport, waste disposal, food, post and emergency operations and much more.
Newham based company, Macsalvors supported Cornwall Council with the installation of a new bridge over the A30 in double-quick time over a weekend in February 2023 as part of the Chiverton to Carland Cross road dualling scheme Find out more here .
Newham not only makes an important economic contribution to Truro but also provides an essential community benefit to the people of Cornwall. Newham businesses are proud to be based on the Estate, close to Truro City Centre and want to continue to operate with suitable and safe access.
Newham BID, working on behalf of its business community, has responded to feedback on these various schemes and copies of the consultation letter and other documents can be downloaded here.
On 20th March 2023, Newham BID was very disappointed to learn that despite over 25 business objections (at this point), Cornwall Council intends to proceed with the core scheme under their Truro Loops proposals. Our press release expressing our concerns for public safety can be downloaded here . These objections grew to over 45 objections during April 2023. It later became apparent when Newham BID issued a Freedom of Information request that only 9 letters supporting the new footway/cycle way had been received.
Front page articles have appeared in the West Briton and Truro Voice newspaper this week with the story reported online via Packet Newspapers and Business Cornwall. Further business objections have also followed.
Today, Leigh Ibbotson, Chair of Newham BID, voiced the concerns of Newham businesses on BBC Radio Cornwall. The item begins exactly 18 minutes into the show: BBC Radio Cornwall
This morning, we appreciated the opportunity to meet Councillor Connor Donnithorne, Cabinet Member for Transport at Cornwall Council on Newham Industrial Estate to voice our concerns in person and to give Councillor Donnithorne a tour of our estate. We thank Councillor Donnithorne for taking the time to visit us.
We hope that Cornwall Council will reconsider their works to narrow Newham Road scheduled to start on Monday 3rd April. Meanwhile, through our solicitors, Stephens Scown, we have issued a legal letter: Pre-action_protocol_letter_for judicial_review.pdf
Please read our latest press release following the news that the Council road project has been ‘paused’.
This press release was covered via Truro Voice, Falmouth Packet and the West Briton. See below: Cornwall Live
On 6th April, Cornwall Council's solicitor responded to our legal letter. We have been asked not to publish these. By way of a summary, Cornwall Council suggested that they had not made any ‘decision’ upon the implementation of or approval of the Newham Road Scheme despite five pieces of evidence to the contrary:
Lobbying on behalf of Newham Businesses
