My *** though is really that nothing down here is done to encourage housing in the city centres. A walk of Truro centre (or elsewhere) and just look up and one sees how much empty property there is, thousands of square feet that could be flats.
Look at Liverpool and Manchester who have done so much to encourage development within the old parts, new businesses like shops, bars, restaurants coming in - ok it's changing the profile of shopping but that's changing anyway with on-line.
Nothing is done here to encourage new business either - businesses get zapped with enormous rates from day one and no phasing in to encourage development. I would also advocate for rates constructed from say a base fee of 1/3rd of today's level plus a sales tax element.... FYI for two shops now empty, Perkins and A-Reed, the rates were 80k a year - Christ, that's nigh on 3 employees..... Obviously, such radical surgery is not a zero sum game - to pay for this, I would up the rates (with the sales taxes) on out-of-town shopping of which we have plenty... the funds also to be used to encourage shop development in certain areas to give uniqueness to Truro (a brand in effect), say in artisanal shops, Cornwall well known for its jewelery, ceramics, glass, pottery, woollen work and all the rest.....
In short, a major overhaul needed and St Ives could benefit from this, in addition to the 'if you build, you must construct low cost housing' policies.