A long-used coastal walkway, cherished by generations of dog walkers and fishermen, has been shut off by a wealthy developer who reportedly told residents they could buy a holiday home if they wanted to continue enjoying the view.
People in Newquay say the route between Porth and Lusty Glaze beaches — among Cornwall’s best-known seaside spots — has been used by the public for centuries.
However, Seamus Redmond placed wooden barriers across steps leading from Porth beach, cutting off access to the path towards Lusty Glaze that residents insist has long been part of local life.
Last week, Mr Redmond, who owns the land, replaced the timber obstruction with a solid steel gate and added notices stating that the area is private property.
The scenic route, once used as a setting for marriage proposals, wedding photographs and the scattering of loved ones’ ashes, is now closed to the public.
Bluechip Hotels Limited, owned by Mr Redmond, secured conditional planning approval last year for a £9.5million redevelopment of the empty Glendorgal Hotel, which stands on the land crossed by the path, with plans to turn it into 12 luxury holiday homes.
In a Facebook post, Mr Redmond maintained that the route was not a public right of way and warned that anyone attempting to use it could face prosecution.
He wrote: ‘There was no right of way. It is private property and anyone who is using it or has been using it is trespassing. Apart from that we are now faced with people vandalising our property which is also our home. Sick or what?
Residents Dave Trebilcock, Matt Kennedy-Smith, Alice Von-Kohler, her pug Ody and Sean Wells pictured at the historic Cornish coastal path which developer Seamus Redmond blocked
The Porth beach end of the path has been blocked using a steel gate by Mr Redmond, a developer who plans to build luxury holiday homes on the site of a former hotel
The Glendorgal Hotel was previously a Victorian gentlemen’s residence and shared the same sea views as the coastal path but is now being redeveloped
‘The path has not been publicly used for 20 years. It has always been private and will always be private. You have no right whatsoever to come onto our land. You are trespassing in other words and creating or inciting criminal damage which has already occurred.
‘CCTV cameras are in operation and will be used in bringing prosecution against anyone who attempts to enter our property illegally.’
He even provocatively told one campaigner to buy one of the holiday homes if he liked having access to the path.
Matt Kennedy-Smith, a teacher, had objected to the path’s closure before Mr Redmond wrote on Facebook: ‘Buy one of the properties and have exclusive rights of way included in the purchase price. Let me know if you’re interested.’
Mr Kennedy-Smith, 49, who grew up in Newquay said: ‘When the first wooden gate went up on May 8 I replied to a post saying it was terrible and we walk here and the comment we got back was buy a house here and get exclusive rights.
‘It’s typical of the way Newquay’s going, it incensed me a little bit and made me want to do something about it.’
In response to one resident who said they had used the path for ‘decades’ to reach the beach, Mr Redmond replied: ‘Illegally.’
After another resident asked whether the land was a public footpath or bridleway, as he said appeared on some maps, Mr Redmond said: ‘Idiotic comments from someone thinking they are smart. Yet another village missing the resident idiot.’
Seamus Redmond told teacher Matt Kennedy-Smith (pictured) to ‘buy one of the properties’ the developer is building if he wanted ‘exclusive’ access to the path
The hotel closed during the pandemic and Mr Redmond, along with his wife, plan to build luxury holiday homes on the site
The Glendorgal Coast Path group of residents found evidence the path has been in use for more than 140 years while a poll found 97% believed it was a public footpath.
More than half of those polled said they used the path every week.
The group is now seeking a Definitive Map Modification Order (DMMO) so Cornwall Council can investigate the historic use of the route.
A DMMO is a legal order used to correct or update the Definitive Map and Statement, the record of public rights of way in England and Wales.
Mr Kennedy-Smith said the group’s effort was not about hostility towards the landowners or objecting to the development but rather protecting historic access to the path.
He said: ‘Many people are struggling to understand why a route used openly by local people and visitors for decades has suddenly been blocked.
‘The recent installation of gates, fencing and private property signs has understandably caused significant concern within the community.
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‘This page was created after the first gate appeared. We do not seek to stop development. We simply believe that development and long-standing public access can co-exist.
‘Over 100 people have now come forward with memories, photographs and evidence of using these routes. Many are understandably asking why a route that appears to have been used openly for generations could not have been incorporated into the development.’
As far back as 1882, residents won a campaign against the then-landowner – Liberal MP Sir Arthur Pendarves Vivian – who also tried to fence off access to the path.
A public meeting found exclusive control of the pathways was ‘prejudicial to the interests of the locality’.
An aerial view of the estate and the path. Mr Redmond replied to one campaigner on Facebook telling him to buy a holiday home if he wanted access to the path
Originally built in 1850, the Glendorgal Estate, of which the former hotel is part, was a Victorian gentlemen’s seaside residence.
It was visited in 1911 by two then-princes and future kings, Edward VIII and George VI, while in 1918 its veranda hosted tea parties for injured First World War soldiers.
The hotel and restaurant were wound up during the pandemic on health and safety grounds – the original house was expected to succumb to the eroding cave underneath.
Hospitality reopened on the site briefly in 2023 before closing again as the redevelopment was greenlit.
In their planning application to Cornwall council, Mr Redmond and his wife Amanda said the hotel made a ‘continued loss’ in the three years between 2016 and 2019.
They said the hotel had an occupancy rate of 50 to 60 per cent throughout the year and its operation had a negative impact on the timeshare and self-catering holiday homes at the back of the site, which also needed upgrading.
The couple added market conditions led them to believe they should build three- and four-bedroom holiday homes.
In its latest set of accounts, published last year, Bluechip Hotels had total net assets of over £1.1million.
Mr and Mrs Redmond are listed as the company’s only two directors.
Residents previously fought a campaign for access to pathways in 1882, rebuffing the then-landowner and Liberal MP to maintain the freedom to walk there
Dave Trebilcock, a 77-year-old retired fisherman and lifelong Newquay resident said: ‘I’ve used this path man and boy since the previous owner and it’s been a footpath for over 100 years.
‘People come here and just claim the property, we’re just local people and don’t know the ins and outs of laws but it feels like they know every trick in the book to get what they like.
‘We use the cliff to watch the fish and track them but recently we were told we’re not allowed here any more as it’s private property.
‘I’ve been using it personally for 50 years but it’s been in use for hundreds of years.’
‘I know you can’t stop development but it feels like we’re moving away from what Newquay is really about. It’s ruining the town.
‘It’s absolutely ridiculous, it stops a lot of people doing that walk with their dogs, even the rod fishermen have been stopped now, we’re losing our way of life.’
Cornwall council said there was no public right of way to the headland
Alice Von Kohler, a 40-year-old probation officer, said: ‘It’s an important part of my life that’s suddenly been taken away.
‘The path has been in use and not been stopped then suddenly the extreme blockades went up and people who walked the path were shouted at.
‘It’s just greed and selfishness, it’s really sad.’
Retired teacher Sean Wells, 61, has been using the path since the mid-1990s.
He said: ‘I’ve met the owner a few times, my family are all surfers and all use that path.
‘Last month they just shut off the path, firstly it was just a wooden blockage then last week they put a big metal gate up.
‘I don’t know why he’s suddenly threatening anybody who steps on his path.
‘The path is right on the edge of his land, three metres from the cliff, it’s not like it’s land he can build on.’
Cornwall council said there was no public right of way to the headland.
