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Posts Tagged ‘Godrevy Lighthouse’

Object today to St. Ives project that destroys Woolf’s view

Posted in Talland House, tagged , , , , on Wednesday 21 January 2026| 2 Comments »

Godrevy Lighthouse © Blogging Woolf

Today is the last day to post a comment objecting to the planned development of a multi-million dollar flat project that would obstruct the view of the Cornwall coast and Godrevy Lighthouse from Talland House in St. Ives, Cornwall, the setting and inspiration for Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse.

Please add your objection to the more than 100 already posted, as of Tuesday.

Read more about the project here.

How to register and post your objection

You must register for an account on the Cornwall Council website before you can post a comment objecting to the development.

If you live in the UK, registration is not a problem, as you need a UK address to register.

If you don’t live in the UK, don’t let the fact that you must have a UK address stop you. Just use the Talland House address provided by Maggie Humm: Albert Road St Ives TR26 2EH. You can register for an account at this link. When the site asks you to verify your account by either text or email, choose email. They will only verify by text if you have a UK phone number.

I used the Talland House address and had no problem, once I realized that the site’s pages load very slowly. Be prepared for that and be patient.

Once you register and are signed in, you can post your comment objecting to the proposal by searching for PA25/07750.

Tuesday, the BBC published a story on the proposed project and its destruction of the view: “Flats to block sea view made famous by Woolf novel.” In that story, Talland House owner Pete Eddy said:

The value to this view is the history behind it: it’s Virginia Woolf, it’s St Ives, it’s Cornwall, it’s literature; it’s everything to do with that book.

What’s next?

The development proposal will be discussed at a planning meeting at St Ives Town Council tomorrow, Thursday. The local authority is set to deliver a decision by Feb. 6.

Map of the proposed development that would obstruct the view of the coast from Talland House in St. Ives, Cornwall. Talland House is to the left and below the development area, which is outlined in red.

You can see how high this project will be by looking at a screenshot of the planning document that shows the west and east elevations of the proposed development, which is called The Terrace St. Ives.

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Save the view from Talland House, setting for Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse

Posted in Talland House, Virginia Woolf, tagged , , , , on Thursday 1 January 2026| 4 Comments »

Developers are at it again. As in 2015, and 2003, they are planning a multi-million dollar flat project that would obstruct the view from Talland House in St. Ives, Cornwall, which was the setting and inspiration for Virginia Woolf’s 1927 novel To the Lighthouse.

Professor Maggie Humm, vice-chair of the Virginia Woolf Society of Great Britain, and Councillor Johnnie Wells, Deputy Mayor of St. Ives at the Talland House plaque unveiling on Sept. 11, 2022. Photo: St. Ives September Festival

The last time, in 2015, developers proposed building a six-story, 10-flat project that would hide the view of Godrevy Lighthouse and the St. Ives coast.

This time, the project submitted to St. Ives Town Council by R.L. Southern, Ltd. is for 12 flats and again threatens to obstruct the view of the lighthouse, as well as of the Heritage Plaque installed on Talland House on Sept. 11, 20022, which will no longer be visible from a public highway, a requirement of any Heritage Plaque.

A parking garage will also be part of the multi-story project developed by R.L. Southern, Ltd., which incorporated in 2019 and appears to have no website of its own. Its director is Robert Mark Lane, 146 High Street, Billericay, Essex, United Kingdom, CM12 9DF. No other contact information is listed online.

Woolfians called to action

In 2015, Woolfians around the world fought back against the project that threatened the view of Godrevy, and the development was halted.  Now, Woolf scholars and readers are being asked to take up the fight again by posting comments objecting to the plan on the St. Ives Town Council website at this link. Registration is required before commenting.

Background

Woolf and her family summered at Talland House for the first 12 years of her life. Godrevy Lighthouse, which she could see from her summer home plays an integral role in her famous novel To the Lighthouse (1927).

Maggie Humm announced this sad news and gave some background on previous development plans:

“For the first application I garnered objections from around the world including from Cecil Woolf, Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s nephew, now sadly deceased. The planning application was denounced in the Observer and other media. (At that time, Cecil posted this comment: ‘About the proposal to build a block of six flats and a car park in front of Talland House, which should, of course, be protected by English Heritage — I am appalled. This is sheer vandalism and should be stopped now.’)

“The [2025] application hardly differs from the original application which received objections from around the world.”

The application for the development, PA25/07750, can be accessed online, along with planning documents, a map, and more.

Maggie shares her objections

  • The view from Talland House of Godrevy Lighthouse was central to VW’s imagination and appears in her novels Jacob’s Room, To the Lighthouse and The Waves, and “Sketch of the Past.” Woolf even called her first Sussex home in Firle Little Talland House. The development would obstruct that view.
  • Tourism, a vital industry in St Ives, relies on writers/artist connections to the town. World-wide visitors come to St Ives to see their houses. This development would constrain visits to Talland House and diminish the number of tourists.
  • A plaque celebrating Woolf’s connections with St Ives, supported by the VWSGB and St Ives Council, and donations from Woolf scholars from around the world, was unveiled on 11 September 2022 by the Deputy Mayor and Maggie. It was part of the St Ives Festival programme that year, and praised on BBC Radio Cornwall, the Observer and by other media. A St Ives spokesman said at the time “this will mark our connection to important writers who also left their mark on west Cornwall.”
  • Woolf’s family made a huge contribution to the town. Julia Stephen, Woolf’s mother, nursed and raised money for a trained nurse; Leslie Stephen gave prizes at the Regatta; and they joined the St Ives Arts Club. The Heritage Plaque celebrates that contribution.

Post objections now

Maggie urges all of us to forward our objections to the development as soon as possible, as the final decision on the new application will be made on 6 February 2026.

Map of the proposed development that would obstruct the view of the coast from Talland House in St. Ives, Cornwall. Talland House is to the left and below the development area, which is outlined in red.

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Music and movie news for Virginia Woolf fans

Posted in films, music, tagged , , , , , on Thursday 26 September 2019| Leave a Comment »

Here is a roundup of music and movie news of interest to followers of Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury group.

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Sad news for Woolfians worldwide: Destruction of view of Godrevy Lighthouse set to move forward

Posted in To the Lighthouse, tagged , , , , on Sunday 8 November 2015| 1 Comment »

Despite opposition from Woolfians worldwide, the destruction of Virginia Woolf’s view of Godrevy Lighthouse from Talland House is set to move forward, according to a Nov. 7, 2015, story in The Independent.

The proposed multi-story development of six flats and a car park will be built, thanks to a decision by Cornwall County Council that the development can move forward once Porthminster Beach View Ltd. pays £136,000 for not having to provide any “affordable housing.”

The move comes after Woolf scholars and common readers from around the globe raised an outcry last summer, using email, social media and the Web. Their efforts generated media coverage that included the BBC and resulted in the Cornwall Council Planning Committee postponing its decision on the project.

The construction project was further stalled in early August when the English High Court threw out 2014 legislation that said developments of 10 or less could avoid paying an affordable-housing levy or offering any such housing in their development.  The August ruling meant that the developer of the St. Ives project must rethink the economic viability of the project and resubmit it — or pay £136,000.

With the Cornwall County Council decision that the development can take place once the fee is paid, it is unlikely the project can be stopped, despite an outcry from Woolf readers and scholars, as well as her family members.

This appears to be the case despite an email from English Heritage saying legislation includes a provision to “avoid harm to the setting of a listed building if it contributes to the significance of the building.” Talland House is considered Grade II, which means it is “nationally important and of special interest.  The St. Ives resident cited National Planning Framework Section 12 paras. 128,9,132 and noted that he would add this information to the planning comments page for the project, PA15/04337.

Woolf and her family summered at Talland House for the first 12 years of her life. The lighthouse she could see from her summer home plays an integral role in her famous novel To the Lighthouse (1927).

This is a short-sighted move by St Ives and Cornwall’s planners, who seem unaware of the legions of Woolf’s admirers who make the pilgrimage to the town lured by the special, untouched atmosphere captured in my great-aunt’s visionary novel To the Lighthouse – the view of which should remain unobscured for generations to come. – Virginia Nicholson, Woolf’s great-niece

Links to more about the view

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St. Ives development stalled, thanks to High Court ruling & heritage legislation

Posted in St. Ives, To the Lighthouse, tagged , , , , on Thursday 3 September 2015| Leave a Comment »

Encouraging news has arrived from the UK. The proposed development that threatened to destroy Virginia Woolf’s view of Godrevy Lighthouse from Talland House, has stalled.

The move comes after Woolf scholars and common readers from around the globe raised an outcry using email, social media and the Web. Their efforts generated media coverage that included the BBC and resulted in the Cornwall Council Planning Committee postponing its decision on the project.

Now a helpful source from Cornwall Council emailed this news to Woolf scholar Maggie Humm:  “The application has been affected by the affordable housing changes…at this stage the application is not likely to go to the planning committee.”

Here’s what this means. In November 2014, the Conservative (Tory) Party ruled that developments of 10 or less could avoid paying an affordable-housing levy or offering any such housing in their development.  Humm said this provision offered licence for any developer.

In early August, the High Court threw out this legislation, so the developer of the St. Ives project, which included a six-story block of six flats and a car park to be constructed in front of Talland House, must rethink the economic viability of the project and resubmit it.

In addition, a local resident forwarded Blogging Woolf an email from English Heritage saying legislation includes a provision to “avoid harm to the setting of a listed building if it contributes to the significance of the building.” Talland House is considered Grade II, which means it is “nationally important and of special interest.  The St. Ives resident cited National Planning Framework Section 12 paras. 128,9,132 and noted that he would add this information to the planning comments page for the project, PA15/04337.

Woolf and her family summered at Talland House for the first 12 years of her life. The lighthouse she could see from her summer home plays an integral role in her famous novel To the Lighthouse (1927).

Plus here is more good news that indicates the St. Ives Town Council may be taking the preservation of local history more seriously: The Council recently voted down a different application to build on an ancient site.

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