Looe Open For Business

Cornwall Council and Looe Town Council are encouraging residents and visitors to visit Looe in the run up to Christmas and enjoy its programme of festive events, emphasising it is open for business and easy to get to despite the road works in East Looe to repair damage caused by landslips that occurred during the recent severe weather.

Looe is always a popular destination for Christmas shopping, with a great range of shops and places to eat and a seaside setting.  With a traditional festive atmosphere with eye catching shop windows, carols, Christmas lights and an exciting events programme, this year Looe Town Council has been working with Cornwall Council and local businesses to provide additional reasons to visit the town.  These include reduced parking charges in Cornwall Council car parks on some specific days in the run up to Christmas Day and a wide range of festive offers from local shops and businesses.

Festive events already planned include

14 December: Evening of Festive Music with St Dennis Championship Brass Band (Looe Social Club, 8pm)

15 December: Looe Christmas Shopping Special:

• Festive offers and discounts from 15 shops and eateries (full details on the Town Council’s website)
• £1 parking all day at Millpool and Riverbank Car Parks (courtesy of Cornwall Council)
• Looe Tourist Information Centre opening specially from 10am-2pm (courtesy of Looe Town Council)
• Blues Night: The Globe Inn
• Choirs at Looe Community Academy (7.30pm)

17 December: Christmas Carolling with Keltique: The Globe, Swan, Lascares, Salutation (7pm-10pm)

19 December: Lantern Procession and Carols.  Processions start West Looe Square 6.15pm and outside Globe Inn 6.30pm.  Soup and Rolls available after in RNLI Boat House on Seafront.

21 December: Christmas Special Trains on Liskeard to Looe line, including mince pie and mulled apple juice courtesy of Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership

22 December: Looe Christmas Shopping Special as above

20 December: Open Mic Night: Tom Sawyers

23 December: Carol Service, Riverside United Church (11am)

Christmas Eve: Christingle, Riverside United Church (4pm), Live music from Claire Stokes: Trawlers (6-9pm)

Christmas Day: Christmas Service: St Nicholas, West Looe (9.30am), Xmas Day Lunch: Looe Community School (noon-4pm)

New Year’s Eve: Children’s Fancy Dress Competition and Firework Display (6pm Seafront), Midnight Fireworks Display (Seafront)

Full details of the events programme are available from Looe Tourist Information Centre on 01503 262 072

Cornwall Council is offering people the opportunity to park in its Millpool and  Riverbank car parks for £1 all day on Saturdays 15 and 22 December. 

Under the offer, drivers will need to buy a £1 pay and display ticket and display a voucher which will be available to download from the Council’s website or from various locations around the town.  These will include Looe Town Council offices, the One Stop Shop as well as local traders.

The voucher must be clearly displayed on the windscreen of the vehicle together with a £1 pay and display ticket purchased from one of Looe's car parks on the relevant day.

The offer, which is valid for Saturday 15 and Saturday 22 December, only applies to the following Looe car parks: Millpool and Riverbank..  The offer cannot be used in conjunction with the RingGo mobile phone payment option. Full charges will apply if a voucher is not displayed and failure to display the correct fee or display a £1 pay and display ticket and a voucher may result in the issue of a Penalty Charge Notice.

Cornwall Councillor for East Looe Armand Toms said: “Looe is a fantastic place to visit at anytime, especially this time of year.  While we had a setback during the bad weather, we have and will maintain good access into Looe and I am sure local people will come out to enjoy the festive atmosphere and support local traders.”   

David Bryan, Mayor of Looe, said: “I warmly invite everyone to visit us to do their Christmas shopping, have a bite to eat, and enjoy the town’s seasonal events.  I am delighted Cornwall Council is supporting the town with the £1 parking offer, and hope that people will take advantage of this and come into see us at the Tourist Information Centre.”

Edwina Hannaford, Cornwall Councillor for West Looe said: “Looe is famous for New Year, but we also have so much to offer in the run up to Christmas.  I will certainly be doing Christmas shopping in the town as I do every year, and I would recommend the experience to anybody.”    

Works are due to take place over the next four weeks to stabilise the top section of St Martins Hill (the B3253) in East Looe where cracks appeared in the edge of the carriageway following the recent land slips.  The works are to be carried out with the road remaining open with the use of traffic lights.  This leaflet gives further information about the works.

Although this part of the scheme is expected to be completed within the next month, traffic lights will have to remain in place here until works to the lower end of the B3253 at its junction with the A387 at Sandplace Road in Looe, where a separate landslip has occurred, have also been completed.  As a result of the landslip, the Council has had to shut a short section of the A387 at this point for the foreseeable future whilst repairs are undertaken to this part of the B3253.  The Council is providing access for pedestrians through the roadworks here; cyclists may also use this route, provided they dismount while they use the access. 

The rest of the A387 from the A38 via Widegates and Morval remains fully open as far as Sandplace.  This means people wishing to travel to and from Duloe and St Keyne can do so via Sandplace as normal and access local businesses.  Access to West Looe is fully open.

Further news and information can be found on the Liskeard and Looe Community Network page.  This will include updates on events in Looe over the festive season, and on the progress of the roadworks.