Plans have been submitted to Cornwall Council for the:
Demolition of the existing hotel, erection of 26 dwellings (including 30% affordable housing), access, landscaping and associated development. | Cliff Hotel Maer Down Road Flexbury Bude Cornwall EX23 8NG
The planning application number is PA23/00748
There are already a number of public objections listed.
The application has been submitted by developer, Acorn Blue in Cheltenham, and design is by Trewin.
The hotel would be demolished and replaced with 26 homes. Under the proposals 30% of the homes would be ‘affordable’, providing eight properties.
A design and access statement says: “The proposal demonstrates how a quality residential development can be delivered on land which will help meet future housing needs” and expresses the view that the land is appropriate for residential development, saying:
“The proposals provide for high quality housing with a mix to meet local housing needs in a sustainable location and will significantly contribute to the housing supply in the local area.”
It is bound to be controversial.
Without more infrastructure in our area, it is crazy to keep building. Very few of these homes ever become really affordable to local people
As the plans for this development encroaches onto the downs towards the sea, it should not be approved.
Apart from the nature of the buildings themselves, conflicting with the style of housing in that locality; apart from the properties being mostly unaffordable to local people; apart from the properties setting a precedent for other build-planning; apart this contributing towards an ever-growing trend of property development that pushes prices beyond the affordability of local people – who are essentially living in what is a low-wage economy area. This development conflict with centuries of constraint by planner and local people of refusing to build on the downs.
I would draw the attention of Planners to the following message from the Solicitor, John Carew, to Sir Thomas Acland in 1826, “if the downs be converted to tillage all hopes of converting Bude into a watering place will be lost; anyone can prevent people walking on the downs and deprive the visitor of his greatest inducement to remain here”. Tillage was the concern in that communication, but building on the downs offers and even greater threat as it destroys permanently the unspoilt nature of greatest local asset.
This location is in an area where there is Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age activity; there could easily be valuable archaeological evidence on that very local downs area.
This should not be left to local people to write in and reject this planning submission; the local people have a right to expect our planners to appreciate the need to protect our long-fought for heritage. It would be a dereliction of trust for planners to pass the planning application.