A project to identify the most striking buildings in Cornwall that are neglected and crumbling away has come up with the Top 10 Buildings at Risk in 2023 - and it's a sorry list of once grand and eye-catching premises. From churches and hotels to a manor and a former Indian restaurant, these are the buildings that will be missed the most.
The three-year project led by the Cornish Buildings Group (CBG) and supported by Historic England and the Cornwall Heritage Trust started in September 2020. The funding supports a case officer to help identify and monitor buildings at risk and seek solutions for neglected, redundant or derelict listed buildings and unlisted buildings across the Duchy.
In 2014 the group set up its first buildings at risk register and, sadly, many of the properties included on that document can still be seen on the 2023 list.
However, it's not all bad news. A number have been rejuvenated, with the help of the intervention of Cornwall Council, new owners and planning applications. Of those previously featured on the list, Pontus Piece, near Minions, was sold and has been rebuilt; the former Baptist Chapel at Bodmin is currently being converted to a theatre; Criggan's Mill and Riviera Farm are being guided by Cornwall Council's enforcement team while some positive interventions have happened at Botallack Manor and St Paul's, Penzance.
A spokesperson for the group said: "The criteria for this list is slightly different from last year. To get on to our Top 10 Buildings At Risk register buildings must be under threat of demolition and/or have been subjected to protracted neglect. We understand that the reasons behind buildings becoming at risk are varied and unique – however, by publishing this list one of our aims is to raise awareness of these neglected heritage assets in the hope that new owners or custodians may offer a more positive future."
The buildings in no particular order are:
Hotel Bristol, Newquay
Developers have applied for permission from Cornwall Council to demolish the Hotel Bristol on the cliffs at Narrowcliffe, Newquay, to build 180 apartments and a 44-bedroom hotel, which the Cornish Buildings Group says is a "highly inappropriately designed mixed-use building" and would harm the surrounding area.
Historic Buildings & Places, Council for British Archaeology and the Victorian Society have all entered the debate and have objected to the application on the council's planning portal. Currently, there are 713 objections to the scheme, against 38 in favour – most object to the scale, massing and "poor design" of the replacement buildings. CBG said: "We hope that this application will be withdrawn in the near future."
Polvellan Manor, Looe
First noted on the group's 2014 at-risk register, this late 18th-century Gothic-style country house can be seen by all who use the Mill Pond car park in Looe. CBG put this building forward for listing but was unsuccessful because much of the building has already been lost to neglect.
Much of the historic interior plasterwork and 19th-century timberwork, installed by Liskeard architect John Sansom, has now been lost. Several planning applications have been put forward, however, none have proved very sympathetic to the historic assets. The group spokesperson said: "We have long followed the declining condition of this once magnificent home, later a hotel, set within an impressive, landscaped park." The national SAVE Buildings at Risk Register has added it to its own list.
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Roseland Gig Club, St Mawes
In 2022 a planning application was lodged with Cornwall Council to demolish this much-loved local heritage asset on the waterfront at St Mawes. The proposal to turn the former Pomery's garage into a mix-use development that would house the gig club, a local heritage centre and residential flats was turned down after a lot of opposition in the village. Revised plans were lodged in May.
CBG said: "Curiously the current application differs very little from the first application – which is mystifying in respect of the amount of opposition. Our attempt to list this former fish cellar, warehouse, garage and artist's studio was unsuccessful. It is the opinion of the Cornish Buildings Group that the proposed new design, with respect to height, massing and detailing, is inappropriate for such a sensitive position overlooking the harbour. Like many, we would prefer to see the existing building brought back to life."
Former Treluswell Brewery, Penryn
This former brewery has been long neglected. Much of the roof has now collapsed and the site is dangerous. The Old Treluswell Brewery Yard includes the former malthouse, which is in need of redevelopment, and a mixture of ‘end of life’ industrial buildings as well as a more modern 'salon' premises. The site is currently for sale.
CBG said: "Our hope is that a responsible owner takes the site forward as a going concern and can successfully convert the old buildings into something more sustainable. The statutory consultee, Historic Buildings & Places, has taken a keen interest in this project."
St Paul’s Church, Truro
The Grade II listed church on Tregolls Road, Truro, is slowly falling into ruin after being left empty for several years. The Cornish Buildings Group has long campaigned for the building to be spared demolition. It has recently been nominated as an entry on the 2023 Victorian Society's ten endangered buildings list.
A CBG spokesperson said: "Despite the threat of demolition hanging over this church, all is not lost. There are hopes that a last-minute solution may be found to re-purpose this handsome and historic former place of worship.
"Despite ongoing discussions between the church commissioners and various interested parties, no solutions have yet been brokered – we fear that time is running out for this wonderful example of an Arts and Crafts style church by J D and E H Sedding. The 2014 revision of Buildings of England: Cornwall noted that the exterior is 'highly accomplished' and 'richly ornamented'."
Former Ganges Restaurant, Penzance
Another long-standing feature of the group's casework, Grade II listed 18 Chapel Street, formerly the Ganges Restaurant, closed its doors in 2006 and has been falling into disrepair ever since.
In 2017, a Save The Ganges campaign group was launched with one local shopkeeper stating "people are very surprised a building could be left in its current state on such a beautiful street", pointing out how hard other residents and business owners were working to preserve and enhance the environment.
CBG said: "Action seemed to be imminent. Cornwall Live rightly described the building as an 'eyesore' that was 'falling apart' and added the hopeful news that plans were afoot for Cornwall Council to 'acquire and renovate' it, using powers of compulsory purchase if necessary. But since then, there has been no apparent change beyond a quick coat of exterior paint (now becoming eroded). Dangerous roof tiles, removed after they started to fall into the street, have not been replaced, and the interior appears to be protected from the elements only by felt and battens."
This building will not benefit from any of the much-publicised Town Deal funding for Penzance, some of which is going to support the town's Market Hall.
Scarcewater Chapel, St Stephen
This once proud chapel is now in a shocking condition. Built in 1869, it was no longer in use by the early 1990s. Planning was approved in 1994 for residential conversion however no development was ever carried out.
The former Bible Christian chapel remains a small wayside example complete with Sunday school buildings, now also disused. The granite rubble building with some granite rustication has a dry slate roof with crested clay ridge tiles, round-arched openings with two-light windows and a gabled porch integral with forecourt walls. The building has recently been added to the SAVE risk register.
Former Lamb and Flag Smelting Works, St Erth
The former smelting works in Canonstown also features on SAVE's endangered building list and is a Grade II listed building.
The Cornish Buildings Group has been watching the deterioration of this site for over a decade – it featured on the first list in 2014. CBG said: "We have reported to Cornwall Council the major deterioration of the structure in general, however, no action appears to have been taken to bring the buildings back into a sound condition. We are particularly concerned that the west side of the roof has now fully collapsed. It seems the building is now in a dangerous condition. We also understand that some work has carried on without the appropriate consents."
Carpenter's Shop, St Day
This long-neglected vernacular building is in the heart of the St Day Conservation Area and set within the World Heritage Site. The group hopes an ongoing enforcement case will encourage the owner to smarten the building up and give it some hope for the future.
The former 19th-century workshop is constructed of uncoursed killas [Cornish mining rock] rubble, part-rendered with some weatherboarding on a timber frame. The building is Grade II listed by Historic England.
Pendower Beach Hotel
After many years in use as a hotel the striking once-pink building overlooking Pendower beach on the Roseland Peninsula has long been in steady decline.
The group's spokesperson said: "There has been several regeneration schemes put forward for discussion and public consultation, however, nothing has really stood the test of time. Part of the trouble has been that schemes have been over-ambitious and extensive in scope, with each successive scheme being reduced in scope from the former.
"Each has been met with much local opposition and has spurned the formation of a local group, Friends of Pendower Beach, which is calling for any application for 'possible redevelopment of the Pink Hotel [to be] limited in scale, does not extend beyond the boundaries of the present site, and does not include residential dwellings of any description'."
A new scheme, which is currently under public consultation, has reduced the size of development by 25 per cent. "Hopefully, this proposal may be more appropriate for such a sensitive site within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty," said CBG.
