Cornwall Council has announced that Falmouth and seven other BID towns in the county will be offered 'Council cash flow' in an interest-free loan of up to £600,000.

The council say they want to help support town centres to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The county has eight not-for-profit BIDs: Falmouth, Newham Industrial Area, Newquay, St Austell, St Ives, Penzance, Truro and Camborne.

These towns represent more than 2000 businesses.

Funding will come from the council's £4m ring-fenced Town Centre Regeneration budget with the agreement that the money is paid back by the BIDs by 2022.

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID manager and Co-Chair of the Cornwall BIDs group said:

"This is very good news and we are pleased to be working alongside Cornwall Council to provide extensive further support to our Cornish businesses and towns at this crucial time.

"A collaborative approach is what's needed and this news acknowledges the integral part that BIDs will play in the extensive recovery and revitalisation plans that are being formulated for our communities. "

The Council said they will also be looking at other ways it can support town centres that do not have a BID in place.