Plans are proposed to demolish a derelict former Newquay hotel and build a much larger new development.

The scheme involves knocking down the four-storey Sutherland Hotel on Mount Wise and constructing an apart-hotel containing 35 apartments.

The development is proposed as two complimentary blocks of apartments linked by an internal landscaped court at ground floor level. 

The northern block would be six storeys high and would incorporate 26 apartments.

LHC Design, on behalf of Blakesley Estates (Newquay SU Ltd) says the scheme looks to challenge the scale and height of the buildings in the surrounding area, whilst still being respectful to local landmarks such as Newquay Parish Church. 

The development is also designed to introduce a significant focal point at the end of Marcus Hill vista and as such will break the skyline on Mount Wise.

The former Sutherland Hotel comprises 28 bedrooms that previously targeted the stag weekend market and is said to be “incompatible with the demands of modern tourism.”

At the front of the hotel was a free house operated as Top of the Town with its external seating area adjacent to Mount Wise. 

A spokesman said: “The site offers dual access approach with its main pedestrian and vehicle access from Mount Wise.

“These split with vehicles entering a secure basement car park and pedestrians alighting to the ground floor podium by steps or a lift – and a secondary pedestrian access from the rear lane which connects Mayfield Road and Trenance Road. 

“Residents will navigate through the site via a series of varied landscaped spaces on the podium levels, this also served by a number of communal facilities including a spa, fitness suite, co-working hub, and reception/management office. 

“Views of Newquay Parish Church of St Michael will however remain, and the introduction of the proposals will not significantly impact the experience or the nature of the view of the church itself. 

“The scale of the new building will mean that it is a dominant feature in the wider landscape, however it will be read as an integral part of the townscape, and it does not significantly alter the nature of this broader contextual view. 

“We are confident this approach has architectural and townscape justification resulting in a scheme of considered elevational and massing proportions, sited carefully within this key location on the axis of Marcus Hill and terminating this key sightline and the broader, Newquay skyline.”