Plans approved for £250m Cornwall resort

A £250m resort proposed for Carlyon Bay in Cornwall has been given planning approval by the county council.

The plans, submitted by developer Commercial Estates Group (CEG), involve construction of over 500 homes plus leisure facilities on the 20-hectare site of the old Cornwall Coliseum near St Austell.

However, the project involves demolition of existing buildings, where bats currently roost, and the planning approval is subject to a bat mitigation licence being granted by Natural England.

This could delay the scheme, according to Jon Kenny, development director for CEG: “We’ve always said that the demolition is dependent on all planning approvals being in place before it’s feasible to start the process so we very much hope that we’re able to push the button this spring and begin to bring the resort into fruition.

“We have a small window of opportunity due to restrictions surrounding the bird nesting season and the presence of roosting bats. If it’s missed, nothing can progress until the autumn - which in turn impacts on the beginning of construction for the whole project.

“From an operational perspective, it makes no sense for us to begin any work until we’re certain that we can implement the full scheme and the transition between demolition and the main works has continuity.”

CEG acquired the derelict Carlyon Bay site in 2002. The scheme was originally given planning permission by Cornwall Council in June 2011, before being put on hold due to the recession.

The revised development includes:

• Up to 511 new homes, a mixture of apartments, houses and villas;
• An apart-hotel, sports and leisure facilities, shops, restaurants, cafés and bars;
• 840 car parking spaces.

The project will also require work on sea defences,  a new channel for the Sandy River, plus cliff stabilisation.