Plans to build a £25 million luxury holiday resort creating some 200 jobs, on the site of a former caravan park on the edge of St Ives have been submitted to Cornwall Council.
Truro-based Kingfisher Resorts plans to build a luxury resort comprising an apart-hotel, extensive leisure facilities, villas and apartments, on the site of a former touring caravan park at Carbis Bay, which was acquired a year ago from London-based property fund, Frogmore Real Estates.
The site already has planning permission for 123 holiday homes, of which 29 properties and the amenities building have been built to date.
Kingfisher plans to invest at least £25 million in developing Una Resort, which will feature a collection of iconic buildings, and has already spent more than £200k creating the Una Kitchen – a Mediterranean restaurant with a wood burning pizza oven.
The scheme’s design been applauded by the independent Cornwall Design Review Panel, whose job is to encourage design excellence in new development and act in an advisory role to Cornwall Council’s planners.
Commenting on the Una proposals, it said: “We are broadly supportive of the bold and ambitious approach that this project espouses – it has the potential to provide a new benchmark for this type of development.”
At the heart of the new resort is a large open Piazza enclosed by the apart-hotel, which takes its inspiration from historic Cornish quoits and the local landscape.
The Una apart-hotel ground floor features local stone – to reinforce the concept of buildings ‘growing’ out of the landscape – and includes the resort guest reception, a home bakery and delicatessen, café/bistro, bar, and an indoor games club. Above the stone base, a lightweight metal and glass structure offers dual aspect, spacious one-bedroom apartments with large open balconies.
A two-storey Pavilion building is of similar design with four, one and two-bedroom apartments, while The Cairn, which is modelled on Bodmin Moor’s famous Cheesewring granite boulders, is a landmark building featuring four single storey holiday apartments with views to all points.
The existing leisure club will be expanded with a larger gym, a new fitness studio, plus a large heated outdoor swimming pool and two padel tennis courts enclosed by a viewing terrace, which are believed to be the first courts for this new sport in the south west.
Kingfisher said the Una Resort’s new leisure facilities and the eating and drinking outlets will continue to be open to holidaymakers and local residents alike, all year-round.
Kingfisher director, Damian Sargent, said: “Una St Ives enjoys a fantastic location and we want to realise its full potential in creating a word-class resort featuring iconic architecture that takes its inspiration from the Cornish landscape.
“What we are proposing is only a very slight increase in the amount of development compared to the previously approved plans. We have significantly increased the amount of landscaping, including a wider green buffer between us and neighbouring properties, which is something that came out of our consultations with the community.”
The proposal is welcomed in terms of job creation and modern facilities for use by locals and visitors. However as a local resident and visitor to Una spa, the annual membership is in excesss of most City centre fees and is frankly ridiculous. The current proposal purports to provide an offer for local residents as well as visitors. Let’s hope this is a truth and not just a stalking horse to secure a consent.if it’s really going to be for locals to use as well as visitors then make it financially attractive and not exclusive
Shut it, st Ives life line is tourism, if you don’t have tourism what do you have??? exactly nothing
This would have been a good area to build affordable homes instead of yet more holiday accommodation. St Ives is already overstuffed with holiday accommodation and they could not sell the original Una properties and this has the potential to remain the white elephant that it has become.
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