Meudon Hotel, Cornwall responds to video against development

Kingfisher Resorts Ltd has submitted a planning application for the site at Meudon Hotel near Mawnan Smith for ten luxury hotel accommodation individual plots, a 20m infinity pool, a gym and fitness suite, a bar and all-day casual dining venue and a spa open to the public.

The hotel says the pool will be free to use for local primary school-aged children.

This week the Save Meudon Valley, a group of local residents opposed the development, released a video claiming the application, the second for the site, will threaten the entire eco-system of the valley.

A map showing the boundary of the development area, including the field, shown by the red line and what area is owned by the hotel shown by the blue line (Image: Meudon Hotel)

But the hotel says the footage within the video includes woodland that is beyond the boundary of the application and therefore does not depict the exact location of the intended proposal. It also says the hotel only owns land north of the stream.

They say the video’s claim that the development ‘threatens [the] entire ecosystem’ is wrong. It says the gardens are in significant decline and long-term management of the Meudon gardens is critical to secure its long-term legacy.

Kingfisher Resorts chairman, Nigel Chapman says to enable this, significant capital investment is required: “Unlike neighbouring Trebah or Glendurgan there is no other source of funding to protect the gardens other than the hotel’s income,” he said.

“The application will ensure the future of these historic gardens which we have always intended to remain a publicly accessible asset. The past 30 years prior to our ownership has demonstrated the fast decline in the gardens that is threatened without significant investment. Our scheme enables over £500,000 investment to protecting their future.”

The hotel says more than 3,500 trees and shrub plants will be planted as part of the proposal, as well as the creation of a biodiversity enhancement field with 2.7 hectares of native species, and a new bat hotel. They say the proposal will deliver a significant net benefit to ecology – a 38% gain in habitat creation and 60% gain in hedgerows.

Another plan showing the proposed development area in red (Image: Meudon Hotel)

They say the campaigners claim there will be ten new ‘holiday homes’ that will be larger than that the previous planning application submitted was wrong. It says they are smaller in scale than the previous application and they are not developing holiday homes in the context of second homes.

They also refute the claim the nearby field has been included within the ‘development boundary’ of the application which makes it very vulnerable to future planning applications for further development”

They say they have deliberately included the field so that it can be protected by the 30-year covenant of the site as a whole, "as we endeavour to protect this green space for generations to come".

The Meudon Hotel sits at the head of the valley (Image: Newsquest)

Nigel added: “We treat our stewardship of this site very seriously. Maintaining and enhancing this woodland, valley and green space has been at the forefront of our plans and we can only achieve this with investment, and that investment can only come if we also enhance our offering as a destination-led location for generations to come.

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"The video is disturbingly misleading and factually inaccurate.”

The planning application has been recommended for approval by the case officer ahead of the West Sub-Area Planning Committee meeting on Monday. There has also been no objection from the council’s ecologist or from Natural England.

However there is strong opposition from the parish council, the AONB and hundreds of local residents and opponents.