Carbis Bay Hotel which hosted world leaders at G7 Summit ordered to tear down buildings

The Cornwall hotel which hosted world leaders for the G7 Summit in June 2021 has lost its appeal to keep three meeting rooms it built without planning permission.

The Carbis Bay Hotel has been ordered to remove buildings after a number of objections from people who said the development was damaging local wildlife.

At the time, Cornwall Council investigated the development but held off on taking enforcement action after the hotel submitted a retrospective planning application.

When the planning application was later withdrawn, the council told the hotel to remove the buildings via an enforcement notice.

This resulted in the appeal by the hotel which has now been rejected by the planning inspectorate.

The hotel had said the meeting rooms have now been repurposed since the G7 Summit to be used as private accommodation for the hotel.

They claimed this complied with the planning policy supporting developments which contribute to the tourism economy.

While planning inspector Mr Jarratt acknowledged this, he said the environmental damage the development caused initially was a more significant issue.

Mr Jarratt said: "I have found very significant harm to the character and appearance of the landscape which is contrary to national and local policies.

"Whilst issues relating to ecology and biodiversity, and to drainage, coastal and land stability could be mitigated through the imposition of appropriately worded conditions, these would not overcome the level of harm I have found.

"Although it is to the hotel’s considerable credit that it has hosted the G7 Summit and now wishes to adapt the meeting rooms to holiday accommodation, the economic benefits arising from the development, despite attracting significant weight, are insufficient to outweigh the harm to the landscape.”

The enforcement notice orders the hotel to return the landscape to its original state.

It means it will need to demolish the three buildings and to reinstate the land to its former level, gradient and condition.

Credit: Richard Whitehouse