Community heritage site at centre of planning row

Evolving Places filed a part-retrospective planning application to turn The Straw Store into residential use

A Cornish heritage site which has become a hub for musicians, artists and makers is at the centre of a planning row.

A private company has submitted plans to change the use of one of the historic buildings at Maker Heights on the Rame Peninsula to residential and commercial use, but opponents fear it could set a precedent for second homes.

Evolving Places, which filed the part-retrospective planning application to turn The Straw Store into residential use, said it would help with the financial upkeep of the site.

The application has received about 30 letters of opposition from residents, with one saying Maker Heights was "not a suitable place for permanent residential development."

'Significant potential'

The former military site contains five scheduled monuments, 17 Grade II* listed buildings and is situated in the protected Rame Head area of the Cornwall National Landscape, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

A number of outbuildings on the site are already owned and managed by Evolving Places, including The Straw Store, which has been used as a holiday let.

In a supporting statement to Cornwall Council, Evolving Places said it had invested "a significant amount of money in the fabric of the site, clearing, maintaining, restoring and caring for the buildings, land and monuments".

It said The Straw Store had "significant potential to deliver some much-needed income".

The planning statement added the elements owned by Evolving Places "desperately need a significant injection of capital to stand any chance of bringing any more buildings back to life".

It said: "Supporting this application will help reduce the conservation deficit and in turn reduce the pressure for enabling development."

'Wholly unsuitable'

One of the opponents to the plan said Maker Heights was one of the "last remaining heritage landscapes" on the peninsula.

They said: "Generations of families – mine included – have enjoyed this place for over four generations.

"The proposed plan threatens to take that away, replacing a shared community resource with private dwellings."

The Rame Conservation Trust (RCT), which was formed in 1997 to protect and promote the heritage assets at Maker Heights for public benefit, said it was concerned "The Straw Store would be sold as a private residential dwelling".

The RCT said: "From a heritage perspective, we would also maintain that this location is wholly unsuitable for residential use, likely to permanently change the visual and historic character of the courtyard."

"We would, however, support continued use as a studio – it has recently been used as a wellbeing space," it added.