The beach development could be called in for a public inquiry

More than 500 holiday homes, a hotel, shops, bars and restaurants, are planned for Carlyon Bay, near St Austell.

Developer Ampersand calls it The Beach, but objectors have dubbed it Costa del Carlyon.

Now Cornwall Wildlife Trust (CWT) has stepped in for the first time, arguing that it is the "wrong type of development, in the wrong place".

Planning permission for the Carlyon scheme was granted by Restormel Borough Council last year, but Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is still considering whether to call it in for a public inquiry.

Sand dunes

Richard Marsh, assistant conservation manager at CWT, said proposals such as The Beach, as well as Penlee Quarry near Newlyn and Truro harbour, risked "killing the goose that lays the golden egg".

He said: "Cornwall appears to be going through a renaissance as more people visit or choose to live here.

"The natural environment is Cornwall's greatest asset but we have to be careful not to become complacent and allow our landscapes and wildlife to be lost to increased development pressures."

Mr Marsh admitted that Carlyon Bay, the site of the old Cornwall Coliseum arts venue, needed a facelift.

But the proposals would double the size of the previously developed area.

'Hands tied'

He said: "Shorthorn Bay, to the east of the Coliseum site, is a previously undeveloped mix of habitats such as heath land, woodland, grassland and wetland that are fronted by sand dunes and backed by steep cliff faces.

"The proximity of these habitats in relation to each other and in a south-facing coastal location makes them unique in Cornwall.

"There have been 18 nationally important species of moths and damsel flies recorded there recently.

"All of this area will be lost to the increased footprint of development."

Dale Jennings, director of The Beach's master architects, ORMS, said the developer could allay all the CWT's concerns.

However, its hands were tied by continued indecision over the public inquiry.

He said: "We have ideas about how to deal with all the issues of the CWT.

"But we have been waiting nine months for the government to get off its haunches, so we are in a cleft stick."