The 100-bedroom traditional hotel will replace the current plans for a 40-bedroom aparthotel
The Hayle North Quay development and its different phases(Image: Arpenteur )
A four-star international hotel chain is set to be built as part of the next stage of the previously stalled Hayle North Quay regeneration project in Cornwall. The 100-bedroom traditional hotel will take the place of existing plans for a 40-bedroom aparthotel.
“This is the biggest change,” Adam Gaymer, director at Arpenteur, said during a site visit. “We are looking to move and improve the hotel offer and replace the 40-bed aparthotel behind Gilbert’s and move it to the area behind the Fisherman’s Wharf with a 100-bed traditional hotel.
“We’ve had some positive discussion with a name brand. It is not going to be a Travelodge or Premier Inn. It is a global renowned four-star brand. It is fantastic news for Hayle and for Cornwall.”
Mr Gaymer explained that the new hotel – whose name he was not yet able to disclose – will not be some towering six-storey structure but will instead utilise the same footprint and boundaries of the site where planning permission already exists, reports Cornwall Live.
This means the hotel will be no larger or taller than the proposed apartment block earmarked for that plot behind the fishing boats.
The site is currently occupied by local gig rowing clubs and other watersports organisations. All would be moved to alternative locations on the site once the hotel is constructed.
Mr Gaymer has projected that once completed, the hotel could generate 30 jobs and attract an estimated 30,000 overnight guests annually to the region, with visitor spending in the local economy likely to be higher than if Arpenteur had proceeded with its initial aparthotel plans behind Gilbert’s beach restaurant.
The firm reckons that for every pound splashed out by visitors at the traditional hotel, a solid 40p will trickle down into the local economy, giving a boost to shops, activities, pubs and restaurants in Hayle.
Arpenteur, a development and consultancy business, was brought on board by the administrators of the North Quay project after it went belly up in 2024, leaving half-finished buildings and a bitter taste in the community towards then-owner Simon Wright and his wife.
The entrance to the Hayle North Quay development with Copper House having been completed on the right (Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
Arpenteur stepped in to take over the site, which had been left locked up and deserted following the financial downfall of Mr Wright and his companies in January 2024. This debacle left a staggering trail of debts amounting to as much as £132 million.
Moorfields Advisory administrators were tasked with cleaning up the mess and selected Arpenteur for the job a few months later.
Now rebranded as Hayle North Quay, the scheme is set to deliver 520 private and affordable homes, shops, restaurants, offices and commercial spaces by 2030.
Before Mr Wright’s Sennybridge firm collapsing in January 2024, 46 properties – comprising 29 flats and 17 houses – had been completed and were occupied. Yet when administrators closed the site, much of the Wharf area remained incomplete and resembled a bombsite.
A deteriorating blue crane has since been dismantled, the entire site has undergone a comprehensive survey, and a new design team alongside South West-based contractors are being recruited to finish the development.
The Copper House building was finished and landscaped in 2025, with 10 of its 12 flats now let to local couples and families, leaving just two available.
Mr Gaymer explained that Mr Wright’s original plans are not financially viable, which is why Arpenteur is returning to Cornwall Council with modifications and adjustments.
“We’ve had to make some adjustments,” he said, “or the site will remain as it is for years which is not what the local community wants. We are going back to Cornwall Council to improve the scheme. We believe these changes will be positive.”
The branded hotel would feature a bar and restaurant. However, it would not displace Gilbert’s or the neighbouring Escape to the Sauna business, as both will remain permanent establishments on the site.
Work on the unfinished buildings at the Wharf should resume in 2027 and will provide apartments and commercial units on the ground floor, all facing the waterfront(Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
“The main thing is we will stay within the four walls of the plans,” Mr Gaymer said. “It will be right in front of the fishing harbour with easy access to the beach. It is a more authentic Cornish offer than an aparthotel.”
Over the coming months, Arpenteur will submit seven amended planning applications covering various elements of the Hayle North Quay development. Mr Gaymer explained that the design team will finalise the schemes this year (2026), with construction on the hotel and residential properties expected to commence around February or March 2027.
During 2026, the principal construction work on site will focus on the road linking the chimney stack to Phillack, which will provide access to the new housing developments planned for Riviere Fields.
Mr Gaymer confirmed that work to complete the partially-built concrete structures along the riverfront will begin in 2027, following surveys which established they remain structurally sound. Whilst some remedial work will be required, the frames won’t need to be demolished and reconstructed entirely.
These structures will accommodate flats alongside ground-floor commercial premises, with the number of commercial units scaled back, as Mr Gaymer noted there had been an excessive number originally planned which would likely have remained vacant.
Arpenteur stated its objective is to see all riverside commercial spaces occupied by independent traders, such as cafés, bakeries, food and beverage outlets, or possibly a gym. He stated: “We don’t want to take away from Hayle’s high street that’s why we have reduced the number of commercial units. We don’t want a big retail hub at North Quay. We don’t want to take away from the high street but help support it and the town.”
Zone 2, dubbed The Yard, situated between the existing Copper House building and Chi Gallos – the Cornwall Council-owned Hayle Marine Renewables Business Park – will feature terraced two to three-bedroom houses available for purchase on the open market.
Riviere Fields will comprise 240 houses, including 93 affordable properties, whilst Zone 4, referred to as The Hilltop, which previously had proposals for 31 substantial “executive homes”, will now accommodate 43 three to four-bedroom family homes instead.
The redesigned Hilltop houses as part of the Hayle North Quay development (Image: Arpenteur )
“We have reduced the built area by 25 per cent to provide a better living space,” Mr Gaymer explained, “and more local housing and better landscaping.”
He emphasised that the site, with its modifications, will benefit everyone – from the landowners who will see a return on their initial investment, to the banks providing the financing, as well as local residents, Hayle Town Council and Cornwall Council.
“It’s not brand new consent that we are seeking as that would add years to the project,” Mr Gaymer added. “It’s just tweaks.”
The proposed modifications will involve scrapping the planned Hilltop car park and relocating it to the Chieftain’s Yard at the entrance of the Hayle North Quay site, providing 100 parking spaces.
Chieftain’s Yard will now become a 100-space car park (Image: Olivier Vergnault / Cornwall Live)
This move is designed to make it more convenient for visitors to access the town centre, apartments and beach.
The existing car park behind Gilbert’s will be retained to serve the hotel, as will the Harvey Towans car park.
Arepenteur has stated that the fishing harbour will remain a key part of the scheme and will be improved through the imposition of a heritage levy on the hotel, apartment and business. This could generate approximately £200,000 annually for Hayle Harbour, contributing towards repair work, maintenance costs and necessary river dredging.
A public consultation event is scheduled for Saturday (January 24) at the Hayle Day Care Centre on Commercial Road, from 10am to 2pm.
