Anger as flats set to block Virginia Woolf’s famous St Ives sea view
Concerns have been raised over a housing development in St Ives, Cornwall, which will block a sea view from Virginia Woolf’s former childhood holiday home, Talland House.
Planning permission was granted in 2009 for a five-storey building containing 12 apartments to be built in front of the Grade II-listed property.
Construction work began last week, ahead of a Cornwall Council decision on proposed amendments to the original plans.
Talland House overlooks St Ives Bay towards Godrevy Lighthouse, a view that inspired Woolf’s writing during childhood holidays spent there between 1882 and 1894.
The setting later became closely associated with her modernist novels, including To the Lighthouse.
Campaigners say the development threatens an important part of Cornwall’s cultural heritage.
Polly Carter, who has been involved in efforts to oppose the scheme, said the amended planning application was only part of a longer process.
“I kind of feel like that’s just the next step in this process,” she said. “Whether the amendments get voted through or not by Cornwall Council, we still have the issue that the planning permission is legal for the original thing.”
She said campaigners were urging people to continue objecting to the amended proposal and to contact MPs, adding that national and international interest had already been sparked.
“We’re asking people to continue to object to the amendment proposal that’s in at the moment with Cornwall Council,” she said. “And then beyond that, write to MPs in their local area about it.”
Carter said Woolf’s connection to St Ives should be seen as part of Cornwall’s own heritage, rather than something imposed from outside.
“Virginia Woolf is an international figure, but the relationship that she had with St Ives is part of Cornish heritage,” she said. “So often, our heritage gets hijacked by, you know, outside of Cornwall.”
She said the current situation presented an opportunity for local people to recognise the cultural value of the site.
“This is an opportunity for us to rally around and recognise and appreciate and fight for something that is an asset to us, potentially, if we use it properly,” she said.
Carter also acknowledged the complexity around ownership of culture and landscape, describing the view as something shared rather than possessed.
“It’s a private property. It provides homes for people, and people who come from all over the world still experience what it has to offer,” she said. “The view doesn’t belong to anybody, which is kind of beautiful, I think. But that will be gone.”
Developers Windingbrook Developments have said the revised plans would deliver the same number of homes as the original permission, with changes reflecting updated building standards and environmental requirements.
The company maintains the existing planning permission remains valid.
The amended proposal is due to be discussed at a St Ives Town Council meeting this week. Cornwall Council said it could not comment on the application before a decision is made, which is expected by Friday 6 February.