400-lodge luxury resort on agricultural land outside Newquay

The contentious Green Ridge Resort proposal by Abe Simpson, of Kingsley Leisure developers, could be decided at an extraordinary Cornwall Council planning meeting next week.

The applicant says the aim is not to replicate existing holiday parks, but to create a new style of holiday destination for Cornwall, in a woodland environment which “encompasses a holistic approach to sustainability”. If approved the resort would be the equal of a “moderate-sized Cornish village” according to one report.

The Green Ridge Resort, if approved, would be built in the upper part of this valley (Image: Supplied)

One resident of the area where the development is mooted – near Colan, Quintrell Downs and the hamlet of Mountjoy – told us: “With the recent closure of the luxury holiday resort in St Ives [Una at Carbis Bay] we are keen to highlight the obvious lack of need for this kind of development.” There are currently almost 350 comments on the council’s online planning portal, the vast majority of which oppose the application.

The proposed development would feature:

Up to 400, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 bed luxury holiday accommodation units for both sale and rental.

Up to 16 staff accommodation units.

A mix of facilities including a reception area, a swimming pool, spa and indoor activity centre.

Food and beverage outlets Outdoor activities including a water park, splash park, playground, dog walking trail, walking trails and seasonal outdoor events areas.

A series of permanent lakes.

A new highway access onto the A392 together with other associated highway-related improvements.

Extensive landscaping and biodiversity enhancement measures.

An on-site solar farm and associated battery storage facility generating enough energy for all the accommodation units.

How parts of the Green Ridge Holiday could look (Image: CAD Architects / Kingsley Leisure Developments Limited)

In addition, the resort would include a private shuttle bus service to Quintrell Downs train station and other destinations throughout Newquay, along with a bespoke ‘boardwalk’ pedestrian and cycle link to Quintrell Downs station, and on to Newquay town centre and its beaches.

A planning statement says: “These innovative enhancements, along with mixed tenure ownership, flexible check-in dates/times and improvements to local public transport provision would help to minimise impact on the local highway network and, in particular, the Quintrell Downs roundabout on the A392. In addition, it is expected that most of the vehicular traffic arriving/departing the resort would be via the A30 to the east, and not via Quintrell Downs.”

Most of the site sits on a hillside ridge, leading towards a woodland valley on the western edge. Another valley is located to the east of the site through Mountjoy and Colan. Both valleys have well established woodlands and small creeks leading to Porth River.

An Agricultural Land Classification Report was commissioned by the applicant last year in which a surveyor concluded that the majority of the land falls within Grade 3b. That is “moderate quality agricultural land which is capable of producing moderate yields of a narrow range of crops, principally cereals and grass or lower yields of a wider range of crops or high yields of grass which can be grazed or harvested over most of the year”.

However, many residents disagree with this judgement. Writing on the planning portal, Cara Gurren said: “I can confidently say these fields are a regular hive of activity. There are two crops each year, providing much needed contract work for local agricultural machine operators, pickers and drivers. The loss of this contract would surely have a huge impact on the local businesses employed and their staff. It has to be noted that this development would be putting people out of work and therefore economically damaging.

“There have been a wide range of crops successfully grown here such as broccoli, potatoes, brassicas, cauliflower, spring barley, maize and beet. All of which are essential to our economy.”

Colan Parish Council objects to the outline application, airing concerns about additional traffic through Quintrell Downs, insufficient infrastructure including doctors, hospitals, water resources and the “huge impact on the wildlife and environment in this area … many natural habitats will be destroyed”.

Newquay Town Council does not object to the resort, noting the positive effects of the development and welcomed its boost to tourism in the area. However, councillors raised concerns regarding a lack of biodiversity gain, the loss of farmland and character of the rural area.

Visit Cornwall has expressed “serious concerns”, stating that research concluded that there was no evidence to support increasing capacity in the holiday sector in the Newquay area.

“There is much to do within the existing operators and before any new major developments or expansions are approved it would be very prudent to undertake a new supply and demand study as well as a community engagement exercise,” said its former chairman Malcolm Bell earlier this year.

Historic Environment Planning added that the proposals would impact negatively on the setting of several listed buildings, including the Grade I listed Church of Colanus at Colan.

Among the many comments online from people who are concerned about the proposal, Kerry Martin said: “While the developers have articulated several measures that appear to address ecological concerns, the reality is that their promises are insufficient to mitigate the significant risks posed by this development. The ecological integrity of the area should take precedence over development ambitions.”

Kirsty Salter added: “The size of the proposed park is massively too big and will dwarf the village of Quintrell Downs and surrounding hamlets. Approving this site will have a hugely detrimental impact on local residents, highways and fast diminishing greenbelt land.

“There are already many holiday parks situated at this end of the parish and the traffic in to and out of Quintrell Downs is unfairly busy. Due to the extended seasons of local holiday parks this is now an all year round issue but horrific during the spring and summer months. Newquay does not have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate another holiday park, particularly of this size. Our public services are already compromised and this will add increased pressure to health care services and hospitals.”

The applicant argues the resort would deliver positive social, economic and environmental impacts by providing long-term, year-round employment opportunities for local residents, take pressure off the local housing market by offering high-quality lodges for sale, significantly increasing tree canopy planting and generating a biodiversity net gain and help to address Cornwall’s climate emergency through on-site energy generation.

The application is due to be considered at an extraordinary meeting of Cornwall’s strategic planning committee on Thursday, November 21, after being brought before councillors by local member John Fitter. He is concerned the application will create an “unacceptable level of harm to the landscape, ecology and historical setting of the area”.

It is recommended for approval subject to conditions by the council’s planning department.