Carlyon Bay residents are encouraged to vote in an important referendum held by Carlyon Parish Council on January 18.  

The Brend Hotel Group, which owns the four-star Carlyon Bay Hotel near St Austell, had sought pre-application advice from Cornwall Council to modernise the hotel, which was built almost 100 years ago. 

The group wants to develop the cliff-top hotel to “meet the current and future demand for different types of tourist accommodation, and for it to achieve the aspiration of five-star status”. Its plans include seven single-storey sea-view eco-lodges on Carlyon Bay’s Sea Road, on land in West Crinnis Fields which is currently leased by the hotel to Carlyon Parish Council until the end of 2026. 

The hotel’s plans were presented to Carlyon Parish Council in December 2022 and, as the neighbourhood development plan was still in draft form, the council agreed to undertake a further consultation with residents, 62 per cent of whom were against the hotel using the green land. As a result, Carlyon Parish Council opposed the development on “highly-valued local green space”.  

Since 2016, Carlyon Parish Council and residents have been developing a neighbourhood plan to help control future development in the wards of Tregrehan Mills and Carlyon Bay. 

The referendum asks residents who are registered to vote whether they wish Cornwall Council to use the agreed Carlyon Parish Neighbourhood Plan when making future planning application decisions. 

All those on the electoral register in the appropriate area will automatically receive a poll card in the post from Cornwall Council informing them where and when to vote. 

Carlyon Parish Council will hold a public Q&A session during its next meeting at Tregrehan Chapel on Tuesday, January 16 from 6pm.   

St Austell Voice columnist Martin Pallett said: “Local residents were consulted about this plan over a number of years and it makes some very significant comments about the importance of green spaces for people health and wellbeing as well as for recreation. 

“This matters because if it adopted, I understand this would mean that the proposed construction of eco chalets in the West Crinnis Field – next to the Carlyon Bay Hotel – would not go ahead because planning permission would be refused. So do make sure you vote and encourage others to do likewise. We really need to ensure a good turnout so West Crinnis Field is protected for use by local people and future generations.”  

• The complete neighbourhood plan can be viewed in full at www.carlyon-pc.gov.uk. To view the document in an alternative format, contact the clerk on 07983 710385.