Global fans of Virginia Woolf up in arms over building of 12 flats
Destroying world-famous literary sea view in Cornwall has been described as 'criminal'
Global fans of author Virginia Woolf are horrified that the building of 12 flats threatens to destroy the view across St Ives Bay to the lighthouse made famous by one of the 20th century’s most influential writers.
Many residents of St Ives are also up in arms about the building work, which has started after originally being given planning permission 17 years ago. The application has received 106 comments objecting and none in support.
A revised planning statement was issued on behalf of the applicant on January 8 which seeks “minor alterations” to the permission originally granted for a five-level residential building with 12 apartments and associated car parking, cycle and refuse storage, and landscaping at Chy-an-Porth, The Terrace, St Ives.
It states: “A meaningful start to the application has been made and as such the original application is extant and can be amended.”
A number of new objections have since been posted on the council’s online planning portal.
Richard Allen is one of those who has made his thoughts clear this week: “I strongly object to this proposal, both as a resident and as a supporter of the Virginia Woolf Society. There are enough flats already, but very few traces of the town’s literary heritage.
“The view from Talland House is world famous, it would be criminal to destroy it for ever.”
Virginia Woolf’s father bought the lease to Talland House in 1891 and the family returned every summer until her mother’s death in 1895.
Woolf later wrote passionately about Talland and St Ives in her memoirs, diaries and novels, most famously in To the Lighthouse (1927), which draws directly on her family summers there and centres around the iconic view from the house across the bay.
In response to what she says is the “unexpected construction” of flats, heritage horticulturalist Polly Carter – who is developing the gardens at Talland House with plantings referenced in Woolf novels and memoirs – is working alongside the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain to mobilise Woolf fans worldwide, including prominent scholars, authors and artists to campaign alongside local residents to safeguard the view from Talland House and seek revocation of the planning permission.
Cornwall Council’s online planning portal has since been flooded with impassioned comments from around the world, urging the authority to protect this literary landmark.
Peter Eddy, owner of Talland House, said: “In 2022, Talland House was formally recognised as a significant heritage property in Cornwall and awarded a black plaque by the Cornwall Heritage Trust.
“As guardians of Talland House, we are committed to preserving both the fabric of the building and the unique landscape that inspired one of literature’s most iconic works. To compromise or lose the view that shaped Virginia Woolf’s creative imagination would be a travesty for the literary world and a profound loss to Cornwall’s cultural heritage.”
In recent years, Ms Carter has transformed Talland House into a cultural hub for local visitors and international tourists, leading tours of the gardens for Woolf scholars, writers, readers and historians who travel to St Ives especially to see Talland and deepen their understanding of Woolf’s life and work.
Next year marks the centenary of To the Lighthouse, so a renewed global interest in Talland House and its iconic view is expected.
Ms Carter has already been approached by international artists eager to visit the site and create works in response to it.
She said: “I am in the process of establishing a curatorial programme to expand opportunities for engagement with Talland in a way that still respects the privacy of its tenants. The view is an essential element that artists want to respond to – and this development will deprive them of that.”
St Ives Town Council objected to the amendment on December 15 and has suggested a new application is submitted or Cornwall Council’s planning department considers a partial revocation of the original permission.