Saving Cornish Tin Mining Heritage

A planning application has been submitted to Cornwall Council U.K. for the development of a Historic Engine House Known as Wheal Metal. It has World Heritage Status hard-fought for, a Listed Building (Grade 2) and of Historical importance into holiday apartments.

There is now only one unit applied for BUT once permission is obtained it can be altered into four units, which for all intensive purposes will make it a block of holiday flats, in a prominent rural position in the Cornish country side. There is enough holiday lets in Cornwall. What we need is housing for the locals, which is in sort supply. It is not just humans that are affected by this proposal, wild life will suffer Bats & Barn Owls are on site. Which are protected species.

It needs to be preserved as a monument for future generations, not forgetting the men women and children that worked the mines, sadly some dying hewing minerals from underground.

I believe most people come to Cornwall because they have a romantic view i.e. fishermen rugged coast line, sea & beaches arts & craft the idea of smugglers and of course what makes Cornwall unique World Heritage Status seeing the silhouettes of Cornish Engine Houses on the landscape & the history of mining. This tourism will be in time affected if you lose these monuments to modern development. You will lose the uniqueness of Cornwall for short-term gain.

I passionately believe it would be a travesty to permit this Majestic silent monument to the past to be developed on this important site. It will be a sad loss to Cornwall the U K and the World. That said the E/House should be a lasting epitaph to them who toiled to help put Cornwall on the map put the Great in Britain and took their skills to the four corners of the world. All of which helped get World Heritage Status.