CORNWALL Council’s planning department has approved a plan by a beach resort to build 182 new luxury holiday homes.

Valley Resorts has welcomed the approval for huge development plans at its Millendreath Beach Resort, near Looe.

The plans also include a sea-view restaurant and bar, leisure building with swimming pool, children’s splash park, café and gym, tennis courts, additional parking, the repair and upgrade of a lido, and a flood alleviation channel and flood defence sea wall.

A condition of the approval is that the new dwellings have to be used as holiday accommodation only and cannot be occupied as a person’s sole or main place of residence.

“The owners/operators shall maintain an up-to-date register of the names of all owners/occupiers of each individual unit on the site and of their main home addresses, and shall make this information available at all reasonable times to the local planning authority,” stated the council’s decision notice.

The large holiday resort is located within a 90-acre Cornish valley. The site comprises 65 acres of woodland located to the north and its own private beach located to the south of the resort.

Millendreath grew in the 1950s and ’60s as a holiday resort with restaurant, cabins, caravans and recreational facilities. A number of dwellings were also built on the eastern valley, which remain today.

A document supporting the application, which was lodged with the council a year ago, stated: “This development seeks to enhance the region’s tourism economy, integrating with the already established appeal of nearby Looe and Seaton while respecting the character and ecology of the site.”

The site is divided into four key areas: the Woodland, the Valley Floor, the Hillside and the Beachfront.

The Woodland area will feature 27 units, comprising a mix of three and four-bedroom accommodation situated along a winding pathway. At the end of the path lies The Spinney, which includes a further seven units, also a mix of three- and four-bedroom accommodation.

The Valley Floor will accommodate the majority of the development, with 72 units consisting of three and four-bedroom ones, alongside the facilities building. The Hillside will feature 50 units, comprising a mix of three and four-bedroom accommodation, arranged across two tiers.

The Beachfront, located in the south of the site, will include 26 units, consisting of one and two-bedroom units. These are arranged in terraces and stacked two high to form three separate blocks, spread across two tiers.

The facilities building would serve as a central hub for the Millendreath Beach Resort, offering amenities such as customer support and a linen store, alongside a pool and spa, a gym and yoga space, as well as other activity rooms and a café – all within a 2,000m² building.

“The restaurant on the beachfront will provide holidaymakers and passers-by with a pleasant setting to enjoy a meal or drink while taking in stunning coastal views. Equipped with a commercial kitchen, bar area and roof terrace, the restaurant represents a significant improvement on the current facilities at Millendreath,” added the application.

The scheme offers 330 parking spaces (including disabled spaces) plus approximately 80 existing spaces. To minimise on-site construction time and reduce construction waste, all holiday units will be prefabricated off-site. “This method allows for precise assembly and reduced environmental impact,” said the applicant.