LAST weekend the Launceston Matters Steering group brought the initiative into the public domain with a launch event in the Town Hall.

The launch was open to the public across the two days, encouraging residents to come and get involved in shaping the future of the town by sharing their suggestions, concerns and recommendations.

There were a mix of residents’ associations, charities, groups, businesses and organisations, plus refreshments in the Town Hall.

The Post has previously reported Launceston Town Council agreed to ‘develop a guiding vision for Launceston’ — engaging the community to produce a plan for the town.

Town Cllr Roger Creagh-Osborne presented his proposal for a ‘Launceston Matters’ group to the town council in September, and his fellow councillors agreed to his proposal. The first task of the group was the event held at the weekend.

Following this weekend’s launch, the steering group will come together to collate the information gathered over the two days to produce a report to use to highlight key concerns and prioritise potential projects. This initial document will then be used to support funding applications to ensure these projects are seen through.

Feedback and suggestions from the residents attending have included smaller changes such as the town bus route trailing further into Newport Industrial estates as well as changing the fencing around the castle to improve the aesthetics, up to larger issues such as the proposed connecting road from Kensey Valley and the move of the taxi rank from the square.

After having a stand at the launch over the weekend, Stephen Howard, who runs local educational charity V Learning Net, said: “This weekend has been a great success, I have spoken to many residents who have some fantastic ideas for future projects and I look forward to now seeing these come to fruition.”

The steering group will now meet to collate all of the feedback received. A report will be produced and an update on projects will be shared as the initiative continues to progress.