Plans for St Ives Premier Inn rejected by council

Premier Inn's parent company Whitbread said it remained "very much committed" to bringing a Premier Inn hotel to the town

Plans for a new five-storey Premier Inn hotel in St Ives have been rejected by Cornwall Council.

More than 600 people had objected to the original plans, many commenting on the size of the proposed hotel on the site of a care home.

Whitbread, the parent company of Premier Inn, said it was "disappointed" its revised plans had been turned down.

Ten members of the West Cornwall Sub-area Planning Committee rejected the plans, while one abstained.

'Massive eyesore'

Scaled back plans for the 90-bedroom hotel at Trewidden Road were submitted to Cornwall Council in October by Whitbread, and presented to the committee on Monday.

Johnnie Wells, mayor of St Ives, said it was "absolutely fantastic" the plans had been rejected.

He said: "Of course, it's absolutely fantastic that this planning application's been turned down, you know. It would be a massive eyesore on the landscape of St Ives.

"It's just a business that we don't need any more of in St Ives.

"We've got enough accommodation, enough hospitality employment, and, unfortunately, [this] wouldn't bring anything to the town, so we're chuffed to bits about it."

Ten members of the west Cornwall sub-area planning committee rejected the plans, while one abstained

Councillor Andrew Mitchell thanked the local community for its support in a "David against Goliath" battle.

He said: "We will continue to defend what is important to us as a town, which is taking care of our beautiful coastline and townscape and protecting local independent businesses."

Councillor Ken Messenger said: "We have worked together to put forward a strong case and we believe there are sound arguments to refuse.

"We are a visitor economy, but the needs of local residents must be protected, and these proposals did not respect that".

'Significantly revised'

In a statement, Louise Woodruff, property acquisitions manager at Whitbread, said the company remained "very much committed" to bringing Premier Inn to the town.

She said: "We significantly revised the design of the scheme in response to feedback from the local community and the planning team at Cornwall Council, and we were encouraged by the planning officers' report which recommended approval.

"We remain very much committed to bringing Premier Inn to St Ives and believe a new Premier Inn hotel will create long-term benefits to the town, including year-round jobs and more than £2m of additional visitor spend each year.

"We will now take some time to consider our next steps."