A planning application for meeting rooms built without planning permission at the hotel which hosted the G7 summit will not be considered until at least September – six months after it was submitted.

There was outcry earlier this year when the Carbis Bay Hotel started work on meeting rooms overlooking the beach without having secured planning consent for the development.

The hotel said that the rooms were required for the G7 summit, which saw world leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden meeting at the hotel.

However the Government insisted that it had not asked for the rooms to be built and that it had been happy with the facilities already at the hotel when it was chosen as the host venue.

Cornwall Council had called on the hotel to stop the works but a retrospective planning application was submitted on March 15, some five months ago. 

Planning permission had previously been refused for a similar development to build new accommodation for the hotel.

Local Cornwall councillor for Carbis Bay Linda Taylor said that she wanted the application to be considered by a council planning committee.

However, five months later there has been no sign of the application on any committee agenda and it has still not appeared on the agenda for the west sub-area planning committee which is set to meet on Monday.

That means that the earliest that the application might be considered by councillors will be at the committee’s next meeting on September 20 – more than six months after the application was first submitted.

The newly constructed buildings at the Carbis Bay Hotel built without planning permission (Image provided by CPRE Cornwall, free to use, no credit required)

The newly constructed buildings at the Carbis Bay Hotel built without planning permission (Image provided by CPRE Cornwall, free to use, no credit required)

When asked about the delay and when the application might be considered Cornwall Council said: “Following the full assessment of the planning application, the local member requested that the application be determined by a planning committee, made up of elected Cornwall councillors.

“We are currently awaiting some further information from the applicant in relation to the application. Once this is received, a date will be set for its determination.”

There are now 392 comments from members of the public about the plans – the council’s website states that 391 of them are objections.

Cornwall CPRE, an independent charity set up to protect Cornwall's environment and rural way of life, has also objected to the application saying that they expected the application to be decided in the next few weeks.

Richard Stubbs, chairman of CPRE Cornwall, said: “We will be doing our very best to ensure the current planning application is refused and, should it become necessary, that Cornwall Council issues an enforcement order for these buildings to be demolished and removed.”

The Packet has contacted the hotel for a response.

The design and access statement issued by the hotel with its planning application states: “The hotel is currently engaged in a major expansion of its water front offering, including a recently completed multi-use venue building, which is part funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, and also recently completed eight no luxury beach front lodges.

“This investment combined with the hotel’s reputation and unrivalled location have attracted international renown to an extent that the hotel has been successful in hosting the upcoming G7 Conference.”

It goes on to add: "The new conference rooms will provide an ongoing legacy for the hotel and local economy following the Summit, creating an additional 12 full time equivalent jobs and providing additional hotel space that is in great demand.

"These spaces will also be used to provide staff training within the hotel and wider tourism industry; a further aspect of a standalone entity within the wider estate."