Helston Gateway: A Flagship Example of Good Growth in Action
South Kerrier Alliance CIC (SKA) have transformed a long‑derelict 1985 supermarket into a carbon net zero centre for primary care, wellbeing and youth activities. Helston Gateway is a flagship example of Good Growth in action, returning a prominent town centre building to productive community ownership and creating a new anchor for health services, youth activity and local enterprise.
From Dereliction to Vision
For seven years the former supermarket stood empty, becoming a symbol of decline in Helston’s town centre. Through Place Shaping work, residents identified clear priorities: more youth provision, better access to healthcare, and renewed reasons for people to spend time in the town.
Investment from the Shared Prosperity Fund was essential in turning these ambitions into reality. The building now brings together a 19‑room GP practice on the upper floor with community, youth and family focused spaces below, all supported by a sustainable financial model that keeps value circulating locally.
Shaped by the Community
Over four years, SKA carried out extensive engagement with residents, partners and young people. Their input shaped the layout, activities and atmosphere of the building, ensuring the final scheme reflects community priorities.
Young people played a particularly strong role in shaping the activity areas, including the climbing features, social spaces and the design of the basement. SKA intend to continue this approach so young people can influence future phases as their needs and interests evolve.
Early feedback has been highly positive, with residents expressing pride in the transformation and enthusiasm for the new opportunities it brings.
Delivering a Net‑Zero Retrofit
Retrofitting a 1980s supermarket to carbon net zero standard was a major technical challenge. The project achieved EPC A+ performance through ground source heating, solar PV, high performance glazing and heat recovery ventilation. Twelve deep ground source boreholes were drilled within the building footprint, an approach rarely achieved in a building of this age.
“I don’t think this has ever been achieved in a 1980s supermarket before.”
– David Turnbull, Director South Kerrier Alliance CIC
A Flagship for Good Growth
Helston Gateway demonstrates the transformative impact of Good Growth investment. A long‑vacant building has been reimagined as a thriving, net zero health and youth hub, delivered affordably, collaboratively and shaped by the community it serves.
It restores pride, strengthens essential services and offers a practical model for towns seeking to turn decline into shared, sustainable prosperity.
This project is made possible thanks to a £2.9m investment from the Good Growth Programme, funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.