BY The Cornishman

A hotel for thrill-seekers is being planned for St Austell.The 60-bedroom hotel is the main part of plans to redevelop the Old Vicarage Place area in the town centre.

The new hotel will be built on the roof space above Old Vicarage Place where there was previously a car park.

The plans have been submitted by Funky Urban Concepts, a Reading-based company, which expects it to be the first development of its kind in the country.

Under the plans a striking new building will be created in the town which will be aiming to attract young tourists into St Austell which will give a boost to the town's economy.

The design of the interior of the hotel is expected to take a modern approach to attract younger people to make bookings.

As well as offering high quality accommodation the hotel will also give visitors the chance to try their hand at a number of high-octane sports from mountain biking to kayaking and from sailing to hang-gliding.

With no similar hotels in the local area it is expected to bring a new visitor into the town and raise the profile of St Austell across the region and beyond.

Architect Andrew Smith, who is agent for the developers, said: "Our clients are national developers and the boss of the firm is very keen on Cornwall and has a holiday place here.

"It is his favourite place and he has always been keen to develop something to link in with outdoor pursuits in Cornwall that is not really surfing, but diving, biking and that kind of thing.

"So that is how they have come up with the concept of an activity hotel.

"Rather than targeting people who would book a two week holiday it would be for people to come for two or three days at the start or end of a break in Cornwall who want to try out some of the outdoor activities in the county.

"It will not be licensed but will have a canteen and encourage people staying there to use the facilities which are being created on the other major development in the town."

Talking about the retail development Mr Smith said: "There are plans to have a large adventure sports shop development. The units would be split up for smaller companies which will sell goods linked to adventure sports to tie in with the hotel."

As well as the new hotel there are also plans to refurbish, alter and extend the existing shops on the site and build a new two-storey shopping centre.

A full planning application for the development has been submitted to Restormel Borough Council this week and, if successful, it is hoped that work can start on site next summer with the project completed in time to open alongside the main redevelopment in the town centre.

Mr Smith said: "This is a very exciting project and it will be a fantastic boost for St Austell.

"The developers are very keen on getting this started and hope to create a brand so that they can open similar projects across the country."

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