St Ives Town Council, a Cornwall Council unit and a number of concerned residents have objected to changes to plans to turn a 1930s hotel in the town into retirement apartments, which are already being built. There are fears changes to roof heights will impact the landscape of St Ives.

Cornwall Council previously approved plans by Manchester-based developers Salboy to demolish part of the Garrack Hotel on Burthallan Lane and build 20 two and three-bedroom residential properties for over-55s, with a swimming pool and restaurant.

The application was given the go ahead in March 2019 with various conditions, one being that work must begin before March 2022, which it has. There was also a requirement that apartments cannot be occupied as a second home or Air b'n'b-style holiday let.

A new application has now been lodged with the council to amend the original approval to allow for the raising of roof heights and design alterations, and a change in use of materials with less landscaping. Another planning application seeks to construct a new building, containing two further dwellings, taking the number of properties to 22 on the site.

St Ives Town Council has objected to both proposals as has Cornwall Council’s area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) unit.

A meeting of the town council’s planning committee noted last week: “Many of the proposed amendments appear to be driven by financial considerations and in the view of the council, this is at the expense of the important local landscape. In particular the raising of roof heights, changes in materials, the introduction of external balconies and an evident reduction in soft landscaping.

“We note the concerns of neighbours in relation to the raised roof heights and are concerned about the additional detrimental impact on the AONB.”

St Ives resident Ben Barker says on Cornwall Council’s planning portal that new roof heights on one block of flats would “totally obscure” the old Garrack Hotel building if viewed from Porthmeor Beach or The Island in St Ives “despite the original consultation identifying the local significance of the old building that was therefore restored rather than demolished”.

On the matter of the proposed new build, The Garden House, which supersedes an earlier plan for a leisure building, the town council had this to say: “The council is in agreement with the AONB management unit which objects on the basis of the cumulative impact of the additional dwellings and the scope for additional harm on a designated landscape.

“The council is [also] concerned to understand the type of accommodation the additional dwellings are proposed to be. The suggestion is that they are not age restricted and, if so, should be subject to the neighbourhood plan policy H2.” That is the policy instigated in St Ives to ensure new builds are not used as second homes.

St Ives resident John Hocking also made his feelings known on the planning register: “The plans that have been submitted take away from the original plan of a complex for the residents. It also takes away communal areas that were planned as gardens [which were said] originally to enhance the area. This means that they will have much less space and the complex is just a concrete jungle albeit disguised with differing textures and appearance.

“The original statement in support of the complex is meaningless if this were to be passed. These properties will be extortionate for local people so that means that there will be an import of older generations from outside the county not alleviating the housing situation that the original plans described.”

Both applications are waiting a decision either by delegated powers by planning officers or by planning committee.