Controversial seafront development is now ‘undeliverable’

A huge development on Newquay seafront has been abandoned as “undeliverable”, meaning an old hotel will now be demolished with no promise that anything will replace it.

Manchester-based Salboy has revealed that its plan to redevelop the Hotel Bristol into 143 apartments over five storeys will not now take place, but the company is due to seek planning permission for “temporary use” to allow for demolition.

We contacted Salboy to ask if this now meant the site could remain vacant for years. We also asked the developer if it would be selling the site or submitting a new planning application for alternative housing use. The company responded: “We don’t have a comment to make on the correspondence.”

The company’s scheme has been mired in controversy since it first revealed a plan in 2022 for 200 apartments and a 78-bed luxury hotel over 14 storeys on the site of the Hotel Bristol and Narrowcliff Hotel.

At the time the scheme was described as “hideous” and a “monstrosity” by residents. In 2023, Salboy came back with an amended scheme for 176 apartments and a 40-bedroom hotel over ten storeys, which it believed would be more in-keeping and sympathetic to the area, but this was still met with derision.

An amended plan for 143 apartments over five storeys was approved by Cornwall Council’s planning department in March 2024.

In correspondence with Newquay MP Noah Law, Salboy said: “We are in the process of pulling together proposals for a temporary use on the site which will allow us to demolish and recover the cost of demolition/ remediation. Said proposal is due to be presented to senior planning officers, so assuming a positive response we should be able to move quite quickly.

“On the immediate issues regarding security, this is something we’re monitoring closely and as soon as we’re aware of break-ins, efforts are made to re-secure the site, but there is only so much we can do if people are intent on criminally damaging our property and there is little form of recourse for us.

“The original ambition was to deliver the planning approved scheme in short order, but market conditions have rendered the scheme unfundable and hence undeliverable.

“We are pushing for a temporary solution to the issue so we can demolish the building and end the nuisance it’s causing to residents.”

Mr Law told us: “Anything is better than the status quo and I am glad to see some movement from the developer’s side following engagement from the derelict buildings working group in Newquay.

“As the local MP and as a member of the derelict buildings working party, a cross-party and cross-organisational body of people working to resolve sites like this, I contacted the developer of the Hotel Bristol site on behalf of a constituent to clarify the facts. I have been in discussions with relevant stakeholders since my election in 2024 to resolve issues at the site, and early signs of movement are promising, if not premature.”