Residents have spoken out about the proposal, which they say is ‘way too big and ugly’
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Plans for a 100-bedroom Premier Inn hotel overlooking a Cornish seaside town have been dubbed a 'needless monstrosity' by concerned residents who are opposing the application. Cornwall Council received a planning application for the hotel at Trewidden Road in St Ives from Premier Inn’s parent company Whitbread last month.
There are currently 59 comments about the proposals on the council's planning portal, all in opposition. If approved, the "sustainably designed, contemporary-style hotel" would replace Trewidden Care Home.
More than £10 million would be invested by Whitbread in the construction of the proposed hotel and 30 new permanent jobs in a variety of roles will be created on opening. The company estimates that guests would spend around £2.5 million per year in the local economy – £1.2 million of which is expected to be spent during the off-peak season.
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St Ives-based artist Shelley Thornton was the first to object to the plans on the council website. She has called the hotel plan a "thoughtless monstrosity", adding: "Way too big and ugly. Around three times the size of the care home and will be a permanent eyesore on the beautiful St Ives skyline visible from the harbour and all over St Ives.
"There's no parking to speak of and it will cause awful extra congestion for people living and working in many parts of St Ives and those trying to use the nursery, schools and leisure centre."
She said: "There are no economic benefits to the people of St Ives. Whitbread claims that 30 new permanent jobs will be created on opening. These will be mostly low paid jobs (and fewer jobs than the current 39-bed care home). I wonder where those staff will come from. Local businesses all struggle to get staff as it is for low wage work. There is not a lack of jobs in St Ives; just a lack of higher paid ones. Supplies will come from out of area. It isn't needed – most hotels have closed as they can't support out of season trade.
"It isn’t for families as few family rooms so who is it for? Stag and hen parties? The homeless and asylum seekers in winter? And it won’t be what Whitbread claim is an 'affordable' option as they admit it will be near their cap of £250 a night."
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She has posted on social media, urging people to "say no to this needless monstrosity that has no place in our beautiful, iconic, heritage town of St Ives. We need genuinely affordable all year round homes for St Ives people to live at whatever stage of their lives not more accommodation for visitors. There are already ample accommodation options for all visitors."
Other comments by those against the plans, include:
"Strongly object to this monstrous building that has no place whatsoever in St Ives, especially in a residential area. It is quite unbelievable that this type of hotel could even be considered in such a location. This should absolutely not take place. Skyline, traffic, noise pollution, privacy invasion of local resident's and upsetting the infrastructure of St Ives should prevent it. An unacceptable proposal on all counts."
"A 100-bedroom hotel will not help with issues like the demand for holiday lets and shortage of reliable year-round employment and will most certainly compound other issues like traffic, parking, the saturation of the town and the need for care homes (to name a few). This monstrosity of a building will see money leave Cornwall, an increased carbon footprint and greenhouse gasses with it's national supply chain and put a scar on the face of this beautiful town."
"This is an enormous building in size and scale that is being proposed to be built in a quiet residential area of St Ives. The site occupies a prominent skyline position clearly visible from the town, harbour, Island and beyond. This five-storey monstrosity will, without doubt have a very negative visual impact on the town and surrounding area."
Louise Woodruff, property acquisitions manager at Whitbread, previously said: “During October, we were able to meet with residents and community stakeholders to share our plans for St Ives. We have been listening to their feedback and been working closely with our team to design a hotel that is fitting for the town and would bring many long-term benefits.
“We are passionate about providing an affordable destination for leisure and business travellers in St Ives throughout the year – bringing a different style of hotel accommodation to the town and creating permanent employment.”
The Trewidden Care home site already has planning permission for a 39-bedroom apart hotel which was granted in 2016 and would occupy a large portion of the site if built. The York Hotel operated from the building until the 1980s and, if approved, Premier Inn’s plans would bring the site back to this original use through the development of a new bespoke hotel building.
The care home will continue to operate during the planning of the proposed new hotel. If planning permission is granted, the intention is to offer the residents of the Trewidden Care Home the opportunity to transfer to a new residential care home that is currently being built in Penzance and is due to be completed this autumn.
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