Carbis Bay hotel ordered to demolish buildings constructed for G7 Summit

Carbis Bay hotel in Cornwall has been ordered to demolish the buildings it constructed for the G7 global summit last year and reinstate the land to its original levels, gradients and condition.

The 47-bedroom hotel hosted the event, which was attended by world leaders including Angela Merkel, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron.

Three single-storey buildings were built without planning permission, which the hotel said were required to provide meeting rooms for the event, but environmental concerns were raised by locals and around 350-400 complaints were made to the council, with a protest held outside the property.

A planning application was submitted to Cornwall Council retrospectively but was later withdrawn. In response the council issued an enforcement notice, which required the area be returned to its previous state.

The hotel appealed and work had commenced on turning the meeting rooms into hotel accommodation. However, the enforcement notice has been upheld and planning permission refused by the Planning Inspectorate.

Planning inspector Peter Jarrett said: “I have found very significant harm to the character and appearance of the landscape, which is contrary to national and local policies. While 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.”

Carbis Bay declined to comment.

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