Kinmel Hall glamping pods must go, trust urges planners

The building was bought in 2021 for £950,000

A set of glamping pods should be removed from a historic mansion, conservationists have said.

In January Conwy council served an enforcement on the owners of Grade I listed Kinmel Hall, near Abergele.

Owner Chris Cryer was given a March deadline, but appealed against the notice saying he needed more time.

Conservationists have claimed the pods remain in use and are damaging the grounds despite a decision not yet being made on the appeal.

• Kinmel Hall: Action needed to save site say campaigners

• Queen Victoria's gift stolen from Kinmel Hall, Abergele

• Conwy mansion Kinmel Hall sold to mystery buyer

Mr Cryer's company Blue Water NW Ltd bought the property for £950,000 in 2021.

He said money from the sale of the pods would go towards the restoration of the hall, but the authority argued that 12 weeks was ample time and that they should be removed pending their sale.

Mr Cryer's appeal is yet to be decided by Planning and Environment Wales (PEDW), the body responsible for planning affairs in Wales.

Kinmel Hall was built in 1874 by copper mining magnate Hugh Roberts Hughes and as well as being a private home has been a girls' school known as Clarendon School and a Christian study centre.

In 1975 it was severely damaged in a fire and since then its condition has deteriorated.

Two years ago it was named as one of the 10 most endangered Victorian or Edwardian properties in the country.

The Friends of Kinmel Hall founded the Kinmel Hall Preservation Trust, and is among objectors to the current appeal.

In a letter to the council, it stated: "The key consideration is that the refusal of planning permission should have stopped the proposed use occurring within the grounds.

"This is essential to protect the site from damage and misuse and to avoid the establishment of any precedent for the use.

"We are deeply concerned that the application /appellant has continued to use the pods for holiday accommodation for the period before the appeal is heard."

A fire in 1975 caused a great deal of damage to the building

Landscape historian Caroline Kernan, who is a patron of the trust, has opposed the appeal "in the strongest possible terms".

"Too much damage has already been incurred: it must stop," she said.

She said other buildings and landscapes designed by the Nessfield family had been well protected.

"This building should be regarded as an asset by the council and everything needs to be done to wrench it out of this abyss into which it has fallen," she added.