Thomas Flamank
"Speak the truth and only then can you be free of your chains"
John Wilkes
'The liberty of the press is the birthright of every Briton’
A TALE OF TWO STOREYS
One of Cornwall’s prettiest beachfront communities is getting a big holiday home built in the middle of it
Council planners have given the thumbs up to a two storey house in Gwithian Towans.
The eyesore will sit amongst the ramshackle chalets hidden in the dunes, by the Jampot cafe, above Gwithian beach.
In all one hundred and twenty of the small beach-front homes are tucked away discreetly behind one of Cornwall’s best-loved beaches.
But in recent months, Cornwall council have approved two large developments, and at the meeting last Wednesday, ok’d the third.
The close knit community in the chalets is up in arms. Gwithian is an area of special scientific interests and there are concerns about any new development.
Chalet resident Sam Hutchens explained: “The last owner of Number 57, Pat, lived there for around fifteen years.
“She sold up, to be closer to her family in the town.”
“Nobody knows who the new owners are – a Mr and Mrs Kennett or something.
“But last Wednesday the council approved a large development at Number 57.”
The mum of one stormed: “The way things are going the chalet settlement here is going to lose all its individuality
“We also weren’t properly consulted. The only person who received a letter through their door was number 56.”
31 year old Sam went on: “The chalets have been here since at least the 1930s and about 75 per-cent are lived in full time.
“But the council meeting dismissed them as a ‘holiday park’.
“It’s not a campsite here: we’re a unique and happy community.
“It’s a very close community. We do our neighbours shopping we pop round each others houses for parties.
“The council don’t care about preserving the history of the Duchy and keeping our environment and communities unspoiled.
“In fact we even heard the council had some kind of beef with Gwithian and Gwinnear Parish were getting payback.”
“There’s a lot of concern here because the Hocking Trust owns a lot of the freeholds and they’re let on leaseholds.
“But they’ve started selling them off as freeholds: once he does that we can see they’ll be knocked into new-builds
“The two storey houses are very visible from the beach. It’s just not in keeping with the beach-front.”
“We’re all worried that in a few years time all the quaint, eccentric, higgeldy piggeldy chalets will be gone and it will look like a housing estate up here.”
Hayle man Paul Warmington stormed: “And yet they won’t help to get us the stadium that will benefit the whole county!”
The 31 year old sniped: “Probably backhanders involved! More holiday homes!!!”
And Hayle woman Susan West complained: “They are building houses everywhere, but at the same time the doctors surgery are struggling, there’s no fire station, admissions at Penzance hospital don’t happen, there’s no all year swimming pool and the buses run part-time over the Winter.
“The money could be used so much better.”
A council spokeswoman said: “A site notice was displayed on the private road/footpath at the junction leading to 57 Gwithian Towans and an advertisement was placed in a local paper.
“Letters were sent to neighbours who have an abutting boundary with the application site.
“The development is considered acceptable and will not cause material harm to the area.”
If you want to check out the application in detail just click HERE and type in PA12/01835
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on June 12, 2012. Filed under Today's Top Cornish Stories.
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graham coad
June 14, 2012 at 10:19 am
From Penwith Local Plan 2004.
Gwithian Towans (Link to Map 19)
10.3.32 Gwithian Towans chalet site is unique within Penwith, having evolved as a traditional holiday encampment used mainly as a holiday retreat for local people. The site is still considered to be primarily a holiday site and, although a small number of units are in permanent occupation, it is not a location where further permanent residential use would be acceptable. Although the site has seen some changes over the years it still retains its distinctive character and charm. The majority of chalets are of single storey design, constructed of and faced primarily with timber and typically have pitched roofs and verandas.
10.3.33 In view of the site’s special character it is considered important to retain those elements which create its distinctiveness. Any replacement chalets should avoid mass produced standardised units in favour of individually designed chalets which harmonise with the existing character in terms of materials and design. Chalets should remain single storey units with dark coloured pitched roofs and timber should continue to predominate externally. Extensions and other structures such as garages should also be of a suitable design which respects the character of the site. In cases where a condition relating to holiday occupancy can be imposed POLICY TM-6 (para. 10.3.28) will apply. The provision of additional holiday units, however, is precluded by POLICY TM-5 (para. 10.3.23).
10.3.34 POLICY TM-8:
WITHIN GWITHIAN TOWANS (Link to Map 19) PROPOSALS FOR REPLACEMENT CHALETS, EXTENSIONS OR OTHER STRUCTURES WILL BE PERMITTED WHERE THEY ARE CONSTRUCTED OF, OR FACED IN, TIMBER WITH DARK COLOURED PITCHED ROOFS. STANDARDISED UNITS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTABLE AND AN INDIVIDUALITY OF DESIGN IN KEEPING WITH THE OVERALL CHARACTER OF THE SITE WILL BE REQUIRED. UNLESS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED DIFFERENTLY ALL REPLACEMENT CHALETS MUST BE OF SINGLE STOREY DESIGN.
graham coad
June 14, 2012 at 10:22 am
Hi! The application details are as follows
PA12/01835 | Demolition of existing dwelling and construction of timber frame single storey dwelling | 57 Gwithian Towans Gwithian Cornwall TR27 5BT
This is the web address for the online planning page.
http://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/
The public consultation period for this application has ended. Cornwall Council are no longer accepting comments from the public on this application.
admin
June 14, 2012 at 10:32 am
thanks graham
graham coad
June 14, 2012 at 10:38 am
Dear all, the plans and elevations clearly show a single story dwelling with rooms in the pitched roof roofspace, completely in line with policy TM-8.
There were only four letters from objectors, which although some were quite long, did not appear to raise any “actual material planning considerations”
The plans will have been widely advertised in the Cornishman newspaper, and would have featured in the agenda of a Gwinear Gwithian Parish Council meeting http://www.ggpc.org.uk/
If I had been a councillor on a planning committee I would have felt obliged to pass this application.
28daysearlier
June 14, 2012 at 3:26 pm
Graham,
The property proposed has two levels/floors. It is therefore clearly a two storey property and in contravention of TM8 which prohibits such. If you’d have voted to pass it at committee you would have been wrong. The term ‘storey’ is quite clearly defined in any dictionary you care to read.
Cllr Tyrone Homes
June 14, 2012 at 4:00 pm
The Gwinear-Gwithian Parish Council has been consistent and resolute in calling for TM8 to be applied to all properties on the whole of the Gwithian Towans, which we believe to the clear intention of the provision within the Penwith Plan. Both the Council and the majority of the local residents believe that allowing further two storey development in this area will cause ‘material harm’ to the character and appearance of this sensitive area and spark a development arms race that will see the loss of this unique place.
More recently we have taken the first steps in developing a neighbourhood plan for our area. At a pre-consultation event held in Gwithian Church Hall at the end of April 2012, attended by almost 50 local residents (many from the Towans), a proposal, put forward by the Parish Council, to develop a Neighbourhood Development Order seeking to preserve the principles set out in TM8 was unanimously supported.
In accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework we believe that emerging policy which is clearly backed by the will of the community should be ‘a material consideration’ for the Planning Officers and Committee.
Cllr Tyrone Homes (Planning Zone Officer for the application from ’57 Gwithian Towans’), Gwithian Gwinear Parish Council.
graham coad
June 15, 2012 at 10:57 pm
It’s interpretation and I’m sure you believe you are right.
However I live in a bungalow, a single story dwelling in Phillack, with a dark coloured pitched roof.
If my bungalow was transplanted to Gwithian Towans it would comply with TM8.
-Am I right so far?
So, then, if a couple of years time, I have a few quid spare, and decide to floor out my roofspace and put in some velux roof lights, is my bungalow still a single storey bungalow? Yes. Of course it is. Sorry people at Gwithian, I just can’t agree with you on this one.
Regards, Graham.
Cllr Tyrone Homes
June 16, 2012 at 9:44 am
A dictionary definition is a dictionary definition….no interpretation necessary.
That is why in our comments on this (and other) application(s) we have specified our intention that replacement dwellings are constructed with pitch roof height that doesn’t allow for a ‘habitable space’ to be constructed either at the time of initial development or at a later date. The Parish Council and community have given this a great deal of thought.
We accept that there were a small number of properties constructed with a 2nd storey before the 2004 adoption of TM8 but we have and will continue to object to further development not compliant with the intention of that rule and fight to preserve the character of the area. After all you don’t have to look far along the coast to see how unrestrained development has affected the character of dune communities.