ANGRY locals in a small village in Cornwall say the expansion of a nearby posh holiday resort will overshadow the local community and leave it ‘overwhelmed’ with tourists.
The 150-cottage Gwel an Mor Holiday Park is set amongst woodland and hills above the harbor village of Portreath, between Redruth and Camborne.
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Locals in a small village in Cornwall fear it is being overrun with tourists Credit: Neil Hope
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The 150-cottage Gwel an Mor Holiday Park is nestled between woodland and hills above the harbor village of PortreathCredit: Neil Hope
Last year, locals celebrated when the owners finally withdrew a planning application to add 25 cottages to the site after it was met with more than 200 objections from residents and the local parish council.
But that hasn’t deterred the owners of Gwel an Mor, who are now facing opposition to its new planning applications.
Cove UK, a subsidiary of US-owned Cove Communities, is awaiting a decision on three more applications and is looking to expand to 1,700 guests in the future – even though Portreath has a population of just 1,100.
Locals fear that any further growth will bring with it serious problems and worsen the problems the village is already struggling with.
Nina Schofield is co-chair of the local group LoveportreathCAN, which deals with local and environmental issues in the village.
She said, “Enough is enough. The place exists and is large enough, and the continued growth causes quite a sense of unrest in the local community.
“We have a successful tourist area, but there is a limit that the city can handle. We want to work with the owners, but it has come to a point where the positives outweigh the negatives.
“I was at the Council meeting where they said that their intention is to more than double the vacation capacities to 1,500, if not 1,700, which would be more than the parish.
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Gwel an Mor lodgings situated on the hillside Credit: Neil Hope
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The owners have granted planning permission to build 25 new huts, which would increase the capacity of holiday homes to 1,700 and reduce the number of residents Credit: Neil Hope
“There’s a lot of unease about what that might mean.
“During the hot summer months, and I’ll say rainy days, it’s not that much of a problem, but during rush hour, when the parking lots are full and people park on the double yellow lines, we’ve had a few traffic accidents.
“In the summer, there are traffic jams on the roads.
“We have a huge water crisis here, we’re still under the hose pipe ban from last year, so local people can’t water their gardens – but Gwel an Mor fills their hot tubs.
“More people bring more garbage, and the municipality can’t finance more collection of bins, so in the end it overflows and the plastic ends up in the sea.”
Local garden nursery worker Scott Treloar, 60, said: “Gwel an Mor is spreading at an alarming rate.
“If they’re planning to have up to 1,700 people up there, and if four people are in a car on average, that means 425 more cars on the road, and our area doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with that.
Twenty years ago you could walk through the village and know everyone, but with this and other new developments, it’s changing the community
Scott Treloar, local
“People who visit Gwel an Mor do not know the local roads and are not used to our narrow country roads.
“They come around corners so fast they’re just accidents waiting to happen.
“We have problems with the discharge of sewage in this area, we can no longer endure because there is no infrastructure for that either.
“Then there are the hospitals – the waiting lists are long and the local doctors won’t be able to cope with the large number of people coming into the area.
“They are talking about many people who will overshadow the local population.
“Twenty years ago you could walk through the village and you’d know everyone, but with this and other new developments, it’s changing the community.
“We have to protect our village, not let it be overrun by tourists.”
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Local garden nursery worker Scott Treloar says local facilities are unable to cope with the influx of more peopleCredit: Neil Hope
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Scott says they are having problems with sewage disposal in the areaCredit: Neil Hope
Nina says there is a strong sense of community in the area and people want to maintain a balance between the benefits of the tourist trade and their local heritage.
She claims Gwel an Mor promised the village a presentation to show what their growth plans would look like, but they still haven’t followed through on that promise
Nina adds: “These are ‘peace lunch’ requests and Gwel an Mor has managed to grow so much because they apply for a small number of new homes so no one bats an eye and then move on to more planning applications.”
Local resident John Wise (85) bought a house by the harbor in 1971 and has lived in Portreath full-time since 1991.
He said the influx of tourists had caused dangerous road conditions.
“It’s dangerous where cars park on double yellow lines while cyclists race down the hill.
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Local resident John Wise says the influx of tourists is causing dangerous road conditionsCredit: Neil Hope
“There is already enough accommodation in Gwel an Mor, so I don’t think they need to build more huts. They will not be used by local people.
“There is already another complex being built on the other side of the village, so we are losing more and more greenery for houses that are not accessible to the local population.
“The main problem with more houses in Gwel an Mor and elsewhere is that we don’t have the infrastructure in our little village to deal with it.”
A proposal to renovate and increase the size of the restaurant, gym and spa facilities – including indoor and outdoor pools – is awaiting a decision.
Cove has also made two separate applications to Cornwall Council.
One is to build 10 cabins on the same site as the 25 he retired last year, and the other is to replace the 10 one-bedroom cabins with nine larger three- and four-bedroom cabins surrounding the fishing lake at the site, increasing occupancy from 20 to 60.
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Extra traffic from tourists makes parking difficult for localsCredit: Neil Hope
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Local teenager Erin Corin-Allen says she doesn’t see how such a small village will cope with so many people Credit: Neil Hope
10 new lodges would be built on land on which 25 would be built, which was previously designated as a wild meadow.
The 100-acre site is adjacent to an ancient forest with public walking trails, as well as a wildlife education center.
It consists of a mix of five-star cabins privately owned as holiday homes and holiday rentals.
Teenager Erin Corin-Allen, 18, works part-time at a local bakery.
She said: “While it would benefit local people to have access to a new spa and facilities such as a fitness centre, particularly for mental health, Gwel an Mor should consider the good and bad elements of what they want to do.
“Portreath is a small village, only 1,100 people, and I don’t know how they will cope with so many more people visiting.
Portreath is a small village, only 1100 people, and I don’t know how they will cope with so many more people visiting
Erin Corin-Allen, local
“But it’s more money for them, which is good for them, and that could potentially mean more money for the bakery, local grocery store, coffee shops and other things.
“It could be useful, but I don’t see how such a small village will handle so many more people.”
Nights at the resort cost upwards of £188 per night, while cottages for sale start from £175,000 for one bedroom.
While locals are critical of the expansion plans, Cove defended itself last week.
A spokesman told the Falmouth Packet: “If you want to blame us for anything, blame us for wanting to boost local tourism and give tourists a quality experience in top class accommodation.”
The statement continued: “Gwel an Mor have applied for planning permission from Cornwall Council to demolish 10 lodges and build nine modern ones in their place, as well as building a further 10 lodges. A nice boost for tourism, one might think.”
Cove added that it employs 110 local people and makes a “modest contribution” to the area.
“It is also worth mentioning that we have had several meetings with the local council where we have shared our plans and asked for their help in distributing funds to local charities and good causes,” added the spokesperson.
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Portreath is a small village – only 1100 people Credit: Neil Hope
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Residents say the huts will not be used by local peopleCredit: Neil Hope
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