Planning Cornwall: Fears that Cornish family’s holiday home will cause the cliff to collapse

A family’s plans to rebuild their holiday home overlooking a Cornish seaside village have led to fears it could cause a cliff to collapse. A Cornwall Council planning meeting heard this week that the development would be in an area affected by rockslides and could put “the whole community at risk”.

Alice Henry applied to replace a cottage, Donkeys Halt, which her family has used as a getaway for the past 70 years at Donkey Lane, on the cliffs at Portwrinkle, near Torpoint. Now in a dilapidated state, Mrs Henry and her husband want to rebuild the cottage as a two-bedroom holiday cottage, which they will also rent out.

Cornwall councilor Kate Ewert brought the matter before a meeting of the council’s east planning committee on Monday June 10 due to concerns about the effect on the stability of the cliff, the height and scale of the replacement building and the possibility of diminishing the cultural and historical significance of the neighboring 200-year-old coastguard cottages.

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The meeting heard that a previous application had been withdrawn by the applicant in 2022 due to concerns about rock stability, size and the effect on a retaining wall between the lodge and cottages. The site is in an Area of ​​High Landscape Value and Conservation Area, its garden is also in a Coastal Vulnerability Zone (CVZ) and is adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Council planners recommended that the application be approved, stating that in terms of coastal erosion and land stability, an originally proposed soakaway located in the garden and CVZ area was removed. The Coast Guard had been consulted and did not object to the conditions.

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Rosemary Kent, who said there had been no consultation with the borough despite claims in planning documents, spoke on behalf of neighboring residents at the Bodmin meeting. She said: “Collectively, we wish to oppose the proposal on the grounds of overdevelopment”, adding that the new lodge will be more than 40% larger in volume and will see a “substantial increase in ground loading in a fragile location, dangerously close to the retaining wall of the coastguard huts”.

“Any further collapse will leave a neighboring property landlocked and have a disastrous effect on Donkey Lane, the main access route to all properties. The Path Recognizing the fragility of the cliff, it would seem careless to allow this development so close to the edge of the cliff.

“Just 200 meters away, a very recent landslide has reduced parking capacity and threatens to compromise the only other road into the village,” she told councillors.

Steve Medway, chairman of Sheviock Parish Council, said that despite recognizing the need for redevelopment of the cottage, his council had opposed the original application on the grounds of overdevelopment. “In 2011 Sheviock Parish Council was overruled by the planning committee for an application for a cafe, which has now had to fence off part of its seating area as it has disappeared to the beach below.

“More cracks are appearing near the caff and the fenced off area will soon have to be increased as there is a very real danger to customers. Perhaps this time the views of those of us who know and live in the area will be heard.”

The complainant, Alice Henry, then addressed the meeting, telling members that her family had been using the cottage since the 1950s, with her and her siblings visiting Portwrinkle for over 40 years. Their children continue the family tradition of “spending quality time” there. She said the cabin’s condition is beyond repair and structurally unsafe, so they want to “future-proof” Donkey Halt with a well-built, sympathetically designed cabin that will be discreet.

“Our family wants to stay a part of the community – we’ve had many offers from developers over the past few years, but our love for Donkey Halt and the memories we’ve made are priceless.” She said she and her husband would like to retire to the cottage.

Ms Henry said the family had now amended the plans accordingly and worked with mining consultants to ensure the development was sustainable and safe, which had also been approved by Cornwall Council’s coastal protection officer.

Local member Cllr Kate Ewert then raised her concerns, telling the committee: “You will see how close to the edge of the cliff this site is. The cliff at Portwrinkle is really precarious and we are seeing more and more rock slides along that little one. stretches than anywhere else in my division…and I have a lot in my division.

“Just to the west of the site there was a significant collapse a few years ago, leaving the landscape looking like a huge bite had been taken out of it. To the east, the cliff has recently collapsed, meaning that a large section of the car park. now he is isolated.” She said it was now only the thinnest of paths to a neighboring property, The Nook.

“My fear is that with the substantial works involved in this construction, the stability of the cliff will be further eroded, at best risking access to The Nook and at worst the rock structure below The Nook and Donkeys Halt. We should not approve a project like this. size in such a vulnerable area.”

Cllr Ewert said it was currently little more than a log cabin and as such was not against the principle of the development but believed whatever should replace it should be more in keeping with being light in structure and low in the setting.

“Donkeys Lane is the emergency access for the village. Overloading the rocks here puts the whole community at risk,” she added.

Cllr Andrew Long said that while he understood the comments from the divisional member and the parish council, he found it very difficult to find any reason in the planning legislation to refuse the application, particularly as the council’s coastal protection officer had argued -a. Following discussions, the commission voted to approve the development by nine votes to two.