Stop The GillyFlower Development

by Stop The GillyFlower Development

Stop The GillyFlower Development

by Stop The GillyFlower Development

Case Owner

We are concerned residents of Lostwithiel, campaigning to save the green hills surrounding the Fowey Valley (AGLV) from the construction of Tim Smit's holiday lodges and large golf clubhouse.

Funded

on 12th May 2023

£6,660

pledged of £7,200 stretch target from 164 pledges

Stop The GillyFlower Development

Case Owner

We are concerned residents of Lostwithiel, campaigning to save the green hills surrounding the Fowey Valley (AGLV) from the construction of Tim Smit's holiday lodges and large golf clubhouse.

Share on Facebook

Latest: Nov. 11, 2024

Gillyflower Goes To Appeal

Despite being unanimously rejected by Cornwall Council, Mr Smit has decided to challenge the decision by appealing to the planning inspectorate.

The appeal submission which includes some additional ne…

Our small Cornish town needs your help in a planning battle with a celebrity developer and his family.

Some of you might know Lostwithiel, ‘the fairest of small cities’. Nestled in the Fowey Valley, the town’s historic centre is a conservation area boasting the remnants of a Medieval palace, a Tudor bridge and 92 listed buildings. Crowning the green hills above the town, in a designated Area of Great Landscape Value sits the exquisite 13th century Restormel Castle. ‘There is history in every stone’ is how the poet John Betjeman once described Lostwithiel.

Those of us who are lucky enough to live here love our town. We are a thriving, vibrant, strong and supportive community. We don’t live in the past and we recognise that nothing stays the same for ever. But we do believe that it’s important to preserve what is so special here for future generations. Our town, its rich heritage and the landscapes which surround it, once lost to unnecessary development can never be recovered.

If you haven’t heard of Lostwithiel you’ll almost certainly have heard of Sir Tim Smit, creator of the massive tourist attractions that are the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. He lives on the edge of town. Brand Smit is almost universally revered. Here in Cornwall though, less so. Our relationship with tourism is more complex. Mr Smit though has made a massive amount of money out of ‘green’ tourism and now he wants to do it in Lostwithiel.

A few years back he bought a redundant golf course here. He’s planted thousands of fruit trees and good for him. The world needs more trees. But in 2021 he also put in an application for 19 holiday homes, an agronomy centre, cookery school and restaurant, and parking for well over 100 cars. All looking down upon our historic town, in the setting of our castle and in a green field Area of Great Landscape Value. Following massive campaigning and opposition that application was rejected a year ago.

But he’s back, and now with his son Alex, he is still determined to turn our beloved landscape into a tourist attraction and make a few more million from land he bought for a song.

The application this time is for 19 individual 'drum' shaped holiday home buildings under the guise of an ‘apart-hotel’, a security office building, and a massive clubhouse/restaurant/bar which will service both holiday makers and golfers alike. And that’s despite him being on record saying this is not a viable site for a golf course, which does kind of suggest that his primary interest is the revenue he’ll generate from his high end holiday camp.

We need to be clear that no one objects to the golf course and no one objects to his orchards. Our beef is only to do with him wanting to bring a holiday resort into a very special landscape which we believe must be preserved, and which will also impact upon the conservation status of a unique and historic town.

And let’s not kid ourselves that if this application is approved then that’s where it stops. Once these buildings are in place then it opens the door for more, which will inevitably follow. There is so much more land on this site which could still be developed. It’s no secret that Mr Smit’s original application included a 4 bed triple garage luxury pad for his son until his consultant advised him it might be wise to remove it ‘at this time’. It’s also no secret that Mr Smit has described this project as a legacy for his son. Nice for Alex. Not so much for Lostwithiel.

So that’s the nub of it. There’s so much more we could talk about to do with traffic on country lanes, the impact on existing local businesses and sustainability and the climate emergency.

But this boils down to making a stand, and not allowing those with celebrity, power and influence to ravage our country side to pad their pockets, simply because they have the money to employ a host of consultants to circumnavigate the legislation which would apply to everyone else.

We know it’s going to be a tougher battle this time. We want to make sure we have the best possible expert opinion and advice to get this thing defeated. While this may not tell us anything we don’t already know, it will add considerable weight to our grounds to object.

£1500 will enable us to obtain initial legal advice

~£5000 will enable us to also employ one of three additional specialists in transport/sustainability, landscape or heritage.

~£8000 will enable us to employ two experts

~£12500 will enable us to employ all three.

It’s a lot of money and times have been hard.

There are so many other far more important appeals than this. You’ll have seen those ads on the television about places where people are starving or in fear for their lives. This is a local planning dispute and if this does get approved we will survive and won’t go hungry or get killed.

But if this touches a nerve in any way at all and you can help us reach our target then we will be enormously grateful, and you’ll have hopefully contributed towards saving a small piece of Cornwall from unnecessary development, but also our ever diminishing ‘green and pleasant land.’

It’s a David and Goliath thing. But we can’t use a sling and we need your donations instead to have a chance of beating Tim Smit. Please help if you can. Either way, please consider placing an objection on Cornwall Council’s Planning Register:

Details of PA23/02502 can be viewed on PA23/02502 | Gillyflower Golf clubhouse and reception, 19 holiday lodges (apart-hotel c1 use class), small classroom and new access and parking arrangements. | Gillyflower Golf Cott Road Lostwithiel PL22 0HQ (cornwall.gov.uk)

Comments here:

https://planning.cornwall.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=neighbourComments&keyVal=RS1K19FGKH400

Get updates about this case

Recent contributions

Someone pledged £35

Match their pledge of £35

Good luck
Fiona pledged £25

Match Fiona's pledge of £25
Someone pledged £25

Match their pledge of £25

Support the case

I will pledge £10 I will pledge £25 I will pledge £35 I will pledge £50 I will pledge £100 I will pledge £200

Be a promoter

Your share on Facebook could raise £26 for the case

I'll share on Facebook

Update 8

Stop The GillyFlower Development

Nov. 11, 2024

Gillyflower Goes To Appeal

Despite being unanimously rejected by Cornwall Council, Mr Smit has decided to challenge the decision by appealing to the planning inspectorate.

The appeal submission which includes some additional new material can be reviewed as attachments to the original application (PA23/02502) on the Cornwall Council Website (search under 'Documents' look for 'Statement of Case')

PA23/02502 | Gillyflower Golf clubhouse and reception, 19 holiday lodges (apart-hotel c1 use class), small classroom and new access and parking arrangements. | Gillyflower Golf Cott Road Lostwithiel PL22 0HQ (cornwall.gov.uk)

Members of the public can submit further comments in respect to the new material if they wish to before the December 2nd Deadline. Comments can be submitted by following the link below.

Reference: APP/D0840/W/24/3352494 (planninginspectorate.gov.uk)

The inspector will already have access to all previous comments submitted and will only consider issues relating to planning law and the new material added to the appeal. If you disagree with any of the new claims feel free to politely let the inspector know.

Thank you for your continued support in this effort to preserve this special valley and precious landscape

Update 7

Stop The GillyFlower Development

Jan. 9, 2024

Dear Friends – We need your continued help to fight the Gillyflower Application

We need to raise a final £2000 to enable our community’s legal team to scrutinise the Planning Officers Report and give us the best chance of a robust defence.

We’ve come a long way in this battle and despite some minor changes, this application, (which sits outside of the development boundary), remains largely unaltered with plans to turn the protected landscape which forms the rural backdrop to our town into a tourist attraction with 19 individual 'drum' shaped holiday home buildings under the guise of an ‘apart-hotel’, a security office building, and a massive clubhouse/restaurant/bar.

We are proud and humbled by the staunch support that the community has given so far but we need one final collective push to get to the finish line – so please dig deep and help us achieve our target!

For anyone able to attend we will be holding another coffee morning at the Church rooms, Lostwithiel on Saturday 27^th January at 10am to Midday where there will be a chance to discuss the progress of the application as well as cakes, refreshments and a raffle so please come along and show your support.

We have started a new appeal page with this £2000 target and will be closing this one soon so please go there to donate and thankyou for your support:

Stop The GillyFlower Development - Final Objective (crowdjustice.com)

Update 6

Stop The GillyFlower Development

June 17, 2023

Community Gathering - Fantastic Success

At the Church rooms today over 200 local residents came together in a show of strength and community in opposition to this unwanted development.

£911 was donated towards our legal fund and every penny will be put to good use in evidencing that this application does not comply with numerous planning polices designed to protect our heritage and landscape.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donate time, money and cake to the cause..

Update 5

Stop The GillyFlower Development

June 12, 2023

Help us for a final push to £6,500

Now at £5320.

This is an amazing achievement. When we set out on this venture we wondered if we would even manage to raise our initial ‘deposit’.

We have done so several times over.

Thank you to each and every one of the 146 people who have donated so far. People have been so incredibly generous.

We have raised enough to pay for our solicitor and a specialist. We aren’t quite yet though where we need to be to maximise our chances.

We want to reach £6500.

This will allow our experts to do their very best to expose this development for what it really is and argue for its refusal on clear planning policies.

So please contribute if you can. Every little really does help and donations can be anonymous.

And don’t forget to comment on the Cornwall Council Planning Register.

Thanks again

Update 4

Stop The GillyFlower Development

June 2, 2023

Support our legal defence - Update

Thank you everyone who has contributed.

Our first specialist has been identified and a report is planned.

But with your help we can do even more to consolidate our case against this application.

Another £2800 and we have enough for a second expert in a different field.

Even if we do not reach that full amount any additional donations will be used to strengthen and our representations to the Council.

If you have not lodged an objection on Cornwall Council Planning portal, please help us by following the link below and adding your comments (every objection counts!)

Other ways you can help..

We are collecting names and addresses of people who are happy to publicly state that they support our group seeking legal representation in response to this planning application. If you are willing to add your name to this list please e-mail [email protected] (no donation necessary).

Finally - You are all invited to The Church rooms Lostwithiel Saturday 17th June 10-Midday for a Community Gathering & Fundraiser to STOP The Gillyflower Farm Development.

For a donation (£2.50 minimum) there will be:
* A cup of tea/coffee & scrumptious cake
* Live Music
* The chance to find out about & discuss concerns around the current Gillyflower Planning Application in an informal way with other residents
* Residents volunteering to try & offer you any technical support you might need to access the planning portal, write to Town Council & to donate to the Crowdfunder etc

* All profits made will be put in the Crowdfunder pot

Update 3

Stop The GillyFlower Development

May 26, 2023

£5k target reached - We get our first expert!

Thank you to everyone who has taken the trouble to support our cause.

We are humbled by the depth of feeling and overwhelming support in defending our hills, heritage and community...you are all special people.

We have now commissioned our first expert who is a leading authority in cases like ours and will provide a professional assessment of the harms this proposal might cause.

A special thanks also to whoever added the mystery £788 - tremendous

You are all invited to The Church rooms Lostwithiel Saturday 17th June 10-Midday for a Community Gathering & Fundraiser to STOP The Gillyflower Farm Development.

* All profits made will be put in the Crowdfunder pot

Update 2

Stop The GillyFlower Development

May 21, 2023

Thank you! £3K raised - Please help us reach £5k for our first expert report

The legal advice you have helped pay for so far has highlighted many areas that prove this application should be rejected but we need the expert reports to support this. We need to pull together to raise the additional £1,500 by Friday 26th May to commission the first report.

Please dig deep and help in the fight no matter the size of the donation it all helps and spread the word with friends and family.

Just as important, please visit the Council Website and submit an objection.

Thanks again.

Update 1

Stop The GillyFlower Development

May 12, 2023