CORNWALL Council has granted planning permission to demolish a hotel at Crooklets in Bude to make way for five town houses, despite concerns raised by both Bude and Stratton Town Council's planning committee and nearby residents.

The prospect of demolishing the current Hotel Penarvor was not what councillors or members of the public objected to, their concerns were to do with the design of the proposed replacement buildings.

Town councillors, as well as Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor David Parsons, felt that any houses erected in the location, just yards from Crooklets Beach, should be designed in keeping with the surroundings.

But planning committee councillors felt this was not the case and objected to the proposed development.

Cllr Lea Deely, chair of the committee, said at the meeting: "We do not object on the grounds of knocking down the hotel, instead we are against the design being out of keeping with the area.

"We can't object to taking it down, we can only dig our heels in regarding how the replacement buildings look."

Cllr Parsons added: "I completely agree with the planning committee regarding the hotel and their reasons for objecting to the proposal due to the unsightly replacement buildings.

"You would have no leg to stand on, simply objecting to its demolition, but you have a real chance if you feel the houses are out of keeping with the area."

When it came to a final decision, Cornwall Council decided to approve the planning application with conditions.

Despite the town council and Cllr Parsons' concerns regarding the visual impact of the proposed plans to the area, the conditions applied to the application's approval did not incorporate this and instead concentrated largely on surface water management.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.