Dismay as Falmouth Premier Inn set to get go-ahead (From Falmouth Packet)

Dismay as Falmouth Premier Inn set to get go-ahead

7:00am Thursday 13th December 2012 in Falmouth/Penryn By David Thomas

PLANS to build a 74 bedroom Premier Inn hotel in Falmouth town centre look set to be given the go-ahead by Cornwall Council today.

The planning application is on the agenda for members of the strategic planning committee when they meet at New County Hall at 10am today (Thursday).

A report prepared for the meeting by planning officers recommends the plans are approved, subject to a number of conditions being met.

The report has been greeted with dismay by opponents to the scheme, who say it will destroy the atmosphere of the town centre.

The hotel would be built on the site of the Campeltown Way car park, close to Events Square.

Nearby residents and business owners have raised a number of objections to the plans, including fears over its impact on car parking in the area, the effect it will have on neighbouring flats and its impact on local businesses.

However, the report prepared for Thursday’s meeting suggests none of the raised concerns merits rejecting the application.

It states: “The development would lead to the loss of 21 pay and display car park spaces, however, it is not considered that this loss of a relatively small proportion of spaces on a site adjacent to the Grove Hill and former T.A. Centre Car Parks would add to car parking congestion to an unacceptable level.”

It adds: “The scheme would have an impact upon the amenities experienced by the occupants of the adjacent Fisher Court Flats who would lose private views from their kitchen and bedroom windows, however, the harm to the amenities of the Fisher Court residents does not outweigh the benefits of this development in terms of delivering a sustainable development which will attract people into the hub of Falmouth.”

Rosemary Hobbs, secretary of the Falmouth and District Hotels Association, was one of many opponents to the scheme.

She said: “Having read the report from top to bottom, I think that for purely financial risk reasons, the councillors are very unlikely to go against the officer’s recommendations.

“I think it is now a case of ‘on their own heads be it’.

“I, and a lot of other people, believe this will ruin that end of town and it will change the atmosphere of Falmouth town centre for the worse.

“We are not angry, we are sad that for whatever reason the planning officer has chosen to interpret planning policy in this way.”

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