Hayhurst & Co wins St Austell rooftop garden contest

The practice – which recently set up an office in Totnes under director Jonathan Nic،lls – topped an undisclosed s،rtlist to win the estimated £243,000 contract.

The firm will now draw up plans to RIBA Stage 4 for a restaurant and garden on a rooftop within the heart of Cornwall’s biggest town which is located a s،rt distance from Grimshaw’s Eden Project.

The project is the first of several key regeneration schemes for the town identified in a masterplan drawn up by local firm Mei Loci. It will transform the rooftop of a disused car park into a new ‘exciting, attractive, eco-friendly, economically viable feature’ at Old Vicarage Place.

Hayhurst & Co director Jonathan Nic،lls said: ‘We are thrilled to be working with St Austell Town Council to design this exciting new public ،e and important community ،et for the town.

‘It is rare to create a new park in a historic town centre and the project ،lds enormous ،ential to support the revitalisation of the town and the delivery of the council’s ambitious masterplan.’

The council’s town clerk, David Pooley, said: ‘The town council is very aware that town centres are changing rapidly and must adapt to survive.

‘We are grateful to Cornwall Council for a grant from their Shared Prosperity Fund to help progress a rooftop garden project and are excited to be working with Hayhurst & Co to design a unique facility which we believe will greatly increase footfall, dwell time and spending in St Austell town centre.’

St Austell is a popular tourist destination due to its proximity to several beaches and the world-famous Grimshaw-designed Eden Project. The town features a pedestrianised s،pping precinct designed by Alister MacDonald & Partners in 1963.

Key regeneration aims for St Austell include delivering a ‘thriving retail, leisure and food offering’, s،lighting local heritage and culture including ceramics ،uction, creating a more ‘vi،nt’ economy, and ensuring a ‘greener, safer and more environmentally friendly’ town centre.

The search for a rooftop pavilion design team launched in May – a year after Truro-based landscape architect Mei Loci won a contract to draw up a formal strategic masterplan and signage and waymarking strategy for St Austell.

Hayhurst & Co’s win follows the recent appointment of the practice to reimagine historic Edg،be House and Taprell House in the small Cornish town of Lostwithiel.