Una Resort has submitted a new planning application to expand its site between Lelant and Carbis Bay.
How the apart hotel would look
The proposal has been prepared as a ‘slot in’ planning application to replace and in the context of a 2019 permission for construction of 55-unit apartment hotel, associated access, landscaping, and parking.
The permission granted in 2019 was also a ‘slot in’ application, which sought to amend the provision of an apartment hotel, granted planning permission as part of a wider masterplan permission from 2017. This relates to the wider site for a “42-unit apartment hotel, 92 holiday villas, and ancillary leisure facilities and associated parking, servicing, and landscaping, and extension of the existing amenity building”.
The new proposal seeks to deliver the 55 units granted in 2019, changing the C1 use to C3 holiday units (residential with a use restriction). It does not seek to make any amendments to the internal or external design, scale, or massing, under which permission was granted.
Black Box planning, making the application on behalf of Kingfisher Resorts, says: “The proposal will make no change in the day-to-day operation of the resort, and the units will function in the same way as a C1 use, being let and managed on exactly the same basis. The nature of the ‘apart-hotel’ is that units are self-contained in any event, but guests will utilise thewider facilities available at Una St Ives, as part of the wider resort. In effect, the boundary between the C1 apart hotel use and a C3 use is non existent in operational terms.
“The development will result in the same level of spending by visitors, and employment levels and prospects will remain the same. The properties will continue to be managed by Kingfisher Ltd and the length of stay will be limited to normal leisure patterns and season fluctuations.
“Whilst the proposal included provision from C1 to C3, it will continue to be referred to, in practice, as a hotel, given that there will not be a material change in operational terms. It will provide self-contained accommodation to accord with the planning use requirements of C3 accommodation, but will continue to provide an ‘establishment providing accommodation, meals and other services for travellers and tourists’ as set out in the dictionary definition of a hotel. The difference between the two is small and case law has established that this is a matter of fact and degree.
“The apart hotel units proposed will also facilitate the delivery of the ancillary uses in the same block and around the piazza, so is fundamental to the wider operation of the resort. However, the change in planning (less so practical) use is driven by the ability of Kingfisher to fund the hotel is not achievable currently.
“Therefore, this application is submitted with the sole intention that a C3 permission is required to fund the development, but will not alter the running or use of the hotel.”
