Giant slide near Bodmin to reopen after successful appeal
The four-lane Kernow Slide will now reopen in May
A giant slip and slide, which is hated by many of its neighbours and was refused planning permission by Cornwall Council last year, has been approved on appeal.
The four-lane Kernow Slide, near Cardinham Woods outside Bodmin, will now reopen in May.
Residents of a quiet hamlet near the slide’s location were up in arms last year after the 145-metre water slide opened for business despite being refused planning permission, while business owner James Lance appealed the decision.
A number of people living in Little Downs believe the slide is in completely the wrong area. They said it creates noise in an idyllic setting renowned for being peaceful and is on a narrow road with the attraction’s entrance on a dangerous bend.
Cornwall Council’s planning department refused permission for the slide last February, stating the attraction was in “an unsuitable location which is heavily reliant on a private vehicle and is not accessible by a range of transport modes and fails to protect landscape character.
“The benefits to the tourist economy from the scheme do not outweigh the harm caused through the unsustainability of the location together with the adverse impact upon the rural character and appearance of the area which is within an Area of Great Landscape Value through the introduction of an incongruous man-made structure and erosion of the tranquillity of the landscape”
However, government planning inspector Gwilym Powys Jones has disagreed with the council’s decision and has allowed Kernow Slide “temporary use of land (three years) for the siting of a water slide attraction for up to 70 days annually”.
The inspector said: “In assessing the visual impact of the development and its effect on the character and appearance of the countryside and its attractive landscape, I find the proposal would have a very limited effect on either.
“The appellant seeks a temporary permission. I am conscious that, although now stopped, the use was initially commenced on an unauthorised basis and to that extent a trial run may be considered to have taken place.
“However, there is no clear evidence before me that the use has run to its full potential where its possible impacts could possibly be different, particularly with regard to parking, traffic levels, littering, pollution, noise and disturbance.
“On balance, I consider a permission to be warranted but for a temporary period enabling the council to assess its effects and general management so that it has a more complete picture than at present if an application is eventually made for a permanent permission.”
We visited Little Downs last year and spoke to a number of residents, none of whom wanted to be named. They said they could accept that young people and “some adults” love the slip and slide, but they strongly believed it was in the wrong location and on a road which is part of Cornwall Council’s Active Travel ‘Quiet Lanes’ network.
Cardinham Parish Council had unanimously objected to the plans twice.
The residents’ group said the screaming from those enjoying themselves on the slides ruined the quiet idyll of the countryside near Cardinham.
An elderly resident said: “The last day of it operating last year was horrendous. We opened all our windows and doors because it was lovely weather, and I sat doing my jigsaw and I thought, ‘I can’t stick this noise – all the shouting and screaming and that’. We had to close everything up.”
Mr Lance, who welcomed the appeal approval, said: “We will be opening on Saturday, May 23 this year. Our booking site will be available from April 1, at which point we will run a few competitions on our Facebook page for free entry giveaways.”