Plans for St Ives Premier Inn approved at appeal

An architect's drawing of the proposed hotel in St Ives

Controversial plans for a new hotel in St Ives have been approved after a planning inspector ruled the building would not be "unduly harmful to the townscape".

Inspector Sylvia Leonard overturned Cornwall Council's refusal of plans for a 90-bed Premier Inn in Trewidden Road.

The council said the hotel building planned to replace Trewidden Care Home would affect the character and appearance of the area.

But the inspector backed an appeal against the decision made by Premier Inn's parent company Whitbread in October.

Cornwall Council refused permission for the hotel in April 2024 due to the size of the building in what was described by a local councillor as a "David against Goliath" battle.

More than 100 residents held a protest outside a meeting to consider the appeal in March 2025.

Refusing the appeal, Ms Leonard said: "I find that the juxtaposition of the new building in relation to neighbouring properties would be such that a building of the size and scale proposed would not be unduly harmful to the immediate townscape within which it sits."

Some residents held a protest during the planning appeal meeting

She said the plans to feature different heights and build materials "would result in the building appearing as a series of individual houses when viewed from the street, thereby reflecting terraced dwellings that are characteristic elsewhere in the town".

Louise Woodruff, property acquisitions manager at Whitbread, said the company would now work with the owner of the care home to buy the site.

She said: "This process is expected to take at least six months, enabling time for Cornwallis Care to support the residents and their families to transition to appropriate accommodation within their group."

The care home will be demolished and replaced with the hotel, landscaping, car parking and other infrastructure.