Cornwall's former richest square mile town is having a revival and it's just beginning

Down in the west of Cornwall there has long been a friendly rivalry - even going back hundreds of years. Two towns at the centre of the Industrial Revolution mining boom proudly became known around the world. They even have their respective famous sons - Murdoch versus Trevithick.

Despite being joined by a common past, they are also fiercely independent, each having its own spirit and community. And the death of mining brought hard times to both equally. They became homes to some of the most deprived areas in western Europe and, although not far from some of Cornwall's tourist Meccas, have looked and felt quite down-at-heel.

But now that's all changing. Both are starting to see revolutions of a very different kind, as recipients of millions in government cash, which is helping to kick-start homegrown, grass-roots pride and project.

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As part of a series of features on the two towns, Camborne and Redruth, we popped over to the latter to see how the former 'richest square mile on earth' is being transformed once more into a new sort of powerhouse - one where creativity and the arts and a growing community of 'doers' are making change happen. You can read our previous story on Camborne, here.

Nothing epitomises Redruth's revival more than the newly reopened Buttermarket, the town's food hall, quirky shopping hub and courtyard. Many years in the making, the £4m project led by community interest company Redruth Revival is not even fully occupied and yet it's already been driving footfall onto the high street and through Market Strand.

"It's November and every time it's been open it's been full," Vicki Kent, the heritage development trust project manager at Redruth Revival, who acted as our guide through the town, told us. "Every table inside and in the courtyard has been packed. We have had visitors from Falmouth, St Ives and St Agnes come to Redruth because of the Buttermarket."

Food traders now include acclaimed Asian street food providers Bango Kitchen, luxury burger joint Cowgirls and neighbourhood Italian restaurant Little Ears, who pride themselves on their authentic homemade pasta. The Buttermarket will also be home to Cath’s Cornish Kitchen, Indian and Sri Lankan-inspired street food vendors The Jar, and Earth and Soul - who focus on Mediterranean food with a Cornish twist.

Units upstairs are also being made ready for an artist and his workshop, for Redruth Community Radio and for an illustrator and graphic designer to move in. Saint Piran pro cycling team is also in the process of opening up its flagship cycle shop and repair workshop.

Work is also underway on another space in the courtyard that will offer a somewhere for events to take place, whether it is a stage for local bands to showcase their music, small theatre troupes to put on a play, singers to regal Buttermarket visitors with their recitals and anything in between.

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"Redruth is in a good place," Vicki added. "We've got some strong indie shop owners in town. We have spaces where it is all about the experience. High streets are no longer the place where you do your whole weekly shop. We all go to supermarkets and shop online. We're all guilty of that. So we have to offer something you can't get anywhere else whether it is your haircut, nails or an arts pottery workshop.

"The Buttermarket is just the beginning. It's the catalyst to bring more people in and encourage footfall and increase trade on the high street. As it grows, it will hopefully encourage more traders to choose Redruth. It's about changing the perception of Redruth."

The Redruth Town Council, town team and the folks behind Redruth Revival would certainly not shy away if the former mining capital received millions of pounds in regeneration funding from the Government like its neighbour Camborne did with its £23.7m of Town Deal cash. But not receiving all that cash at once has also meant that Redruth has been freer to do what it wants, unshackled from any box-ticking red tape.

Vicki said: "I think we are further along on our journey than perhaps Camborne in terms of regeneration. We've never had that much money but it has enabled us to be ready more quickly. As a town we know what we want so when bigger pots of money become available we're as Boris Johnson used to say 'shovel ready'. We don't have the pressures Camborne is under with their massive pot of cash."

She said that Redruth Revival has received small pots of funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund or Historic England to carry out feasibility studies on its next projects including the transformation of the Fair Meadow car park and Old Store. The plan is for new infrastructure to be put into the car park so it can become Redruth's event space and for the Old Store to be renovated so it is brought back to life.

Jonathan Bray, the general manager of the Buttermarket, believes it will become an incubator for entrepreneurs before they expand and move out to bigger premises somewhere else on the high street. There are two pop-up kitchens at present along with the more permanent food tenants.

"It is a good step up to establish loyalty and following in the town," he said. "In terms of entertainment Redruth is a good place. We have a cinema that's always busy. The Ladder cultural centre puts on great shows. Kresen Kernow brings in a different type of visitors to our town too, but we don't have much in terms of hospitality to go along with it. Hopefully, the Buttermarket is the start of it."

Not so long ago the mighty Redruth which had once rolled in riches, flashing its wealth on grand buildings and architecture, was seen as the 'sick man of Cornwall'. Down on its luck after the closure of the last tin mine at South Crofty - which Cornish Metals are hoping to reopen soon - Redruth was home to empty shops, boarded-up pubs, poverty and crime. But no more.

"I think it was Krowji that was the spark for change," Vicki said. "You can't have the biggest creative hub in the county and not have an impact on the town. We have seen artists make that transition from Krowji into the town centre and the more of them do that the better for Redruth.

"That link between Krowji and the town is getting stronger and stronger. Kresen Kernow adds that other demographic of visitors. That led to Redruth Revival to be born. They were all volunteers at first. They just got on with it and did it themselves."

Krowji is now in its third phase of expansion with new artist spaces opening to welcome back some of the artists who lost everything three years ago in a fire.

Director Elisa Harris said the opening marks a milestone for the arts hub. She said: "The launch of our new studios marks a major turning point for Krowji and we’d like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the vast numbers of individuals and businesses, within the Redruth community and further afield, who reached out to us following the fire three years ago."

Redruth is not perfect of course as no town, village or city is, but there is a strong sense of hope and optimism in the town bolstered by creativity, the arts and a unique sense of identity. There may still be issues with poverty, deprivation and crime but as statistics show, crime is down in Redruth.

Anyone who read about the horrific hammer and gun attack in Redruth last year, which led to three people being jailed for a total of 43 years, might remain sceptical about crime stats in the town, but according to figures from CrimeRate.co.uk, a specialist data analysis and geographic information systems (GIS) website dedicated to uncovering crime trends in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, Redruth is among the top 10 safest small towns in Cornwall. The town is the 29th most dangerous overall out of Cornwall's 212 towns, villages, and cities.

The overall crime rate in Redruth in 2023 was 31 crimes per 1,000 people. This compares favourably to Cornwall's overall crime rate, coming in 12% lower than the Cornwall rate of 36 per 1,000 daytime population. For England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as a whole, Redruth is the 42nd safest small town, and the 3,906th safest location out of all towns, cities, and villages.

The highest crime rates in the town are for shoplifting, criminal damage and violence, but the trend for drug-related crimes and violence and sexual offences is downwards and Redruth's crime risk score overall is also going down by 65 points, which is a stronger signal of how the town is bringing its issues under control.

More importantly, figures show that drug crime is down by 47 per cent in the last three years while violence and sexual offences are down by 2.72 per cent over the same period with public order offences also down by 48 per cent in the last three years. Vicki admits there certainly are pockets of deprivation in Redruth but compared to Truro, Falmouth or the more touristy coastal towns full of second homes, Redruth is also more affordable for people and businesses.

In fact, if the hundreds of houses being built opposite Redruth School are anything to go by, the town is expanding fast. According to the town council's own statistics, Redruth's population is expected to grow by 36% from 2010 to 2030. Home to 12,664 people in 2010, it grew to 15,600 by 2021, a 23 percent rise. The town's population is estimated to grow to 17,220 by 2030, which represents a 36% increase.

Known for its mining history and heritage - the town has one of the highest concentration of listed buildings in England - Redruth used to be a market town, something that Vicki wants to bring back some more. For the last couple of years there have been monthly markets in Fore Street and Market Strand with stallholders selling everything from fruit and veg to crafty stuff, vinyls and vintage clothes. Redruth Revival is keen to see the markets become weekly occurrences.

"It's been a hard slog to get it to what it is," Vicki said. "But it's at capacity every month. That's why we think we're ready to expand. It's about testing the water and seeing what works. But it fits with our vision to help businesses win more trade."

D Emberson, from Natural Patterns, is a cyanotype artist who runs a workshop out of The Artroom in Knights Arcade opposite Redruth's cinema. Set up by fellow artist Tina Varcoe, The Artroom is where you go to join the local Scribble group, after-school art club, pottery classes, printmaking workshops or want to take part in Redruth Soup Night, an event that sees people come in and pay £10 to enjoy some food made with ingredients from the veg shop across the road, then discuss where or what they'd like the total pot of cash raised on the night to go.

A social event, it helps to bring people together and three projects are then argued over and those taking part vote for the one they like most. The chosen project - it could be seed money for a start-up business, a local charity or youth club or a shop needing a bit of investment to tart up its frontage - gets the cash.

"The Artroom is such a magical place that Tina has created," D said. "I wanted to come home to Cornwall. I wasn't put off by Redruth's reputation but wanted to give the town a chance. We are a cool town. Real people live here all year round. There is a strong sense of community. We've been here for two and a half years and my little boy was born here. I couldn't be prouder to bring him up in this community. People have been so caring."

D and Tina, like others on the high street, are part of the Totally Locally Redruth movement which is a collective of high street traders promoting all there is to do in the town from yoga classes to coffee mornings. "We promoted some 100 events in October alone," D said. "So don't come and tell there is nothing going on in Redruth."

Sarah Sullivan opened Red Pottery and gallery at Tower House in April last year. To her own admission, she chose Redruth over her home town of Penryn because it is a lot more affordable. "I have particular needs as a potter," she said. "And this place which used to be a pasty shop and smelled of old pasties and had pasty juice on the walls, was perfect. It had the three-phase electrics for my kiln and a deep sink.

"I didn't really intend to have a shop front as I wanted the place for workshops but I just couldn't say no. It felt totally right. I went out and had a look at the shop at the back and met Tina and we share the same ethos. I want people to capture the joy of making. With the Buttermarket and Krowji, Redruth ticked all the boxes for me.

"There are a lot of doers in this town. Redruth is thriving because of us. It reflects that South African proverb. 'I am because we are'. It's so true in Redruth."

Sarah Perry, is one of two Sarahs running Make A Mends, at the bottom of the hill on Fore Street, the quirky trendy creative clothes-mending and embellishing shop is behind the Re Project which asked all traders on the high street to define themselves with one word starting with 're'. Then Make A Mends created banners for them all and maps for people with all the shops and their 're' names.

"The community of Redruth is pretty fantastic. The local independent shops all support each other. There is such a can-do attitude here. I live in Falmouth but Redruth is the place that makes me sing."

As Redruth looks to the future, Vicki has these words for the naysayers: "People keep bleating that old story about Redruth but Redruth is not what they think it is anymore. All we want is for them to come and have a look for themselves. They'll be surprised."

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