[2] The village is part of the Lelant and Carbis Bay ward on Cornwall Council,[3] and also the St Ives Parliamentary constituency.

Observers of the building thought it was of an ecclesiastical nature, and it is possible that it is the site of a pre-Norman church, burial ground and the former Lelant town.

[2] Lelant was a seaport in the Middle Ages, but the trade was lost to St Ives when the estuary silted up.

The early 19th century politician and poet Winthrop Mackworth Praed was a member of the family, though he did not live in Cornwall.

[18] Lelant lies on the short A3074 road that leads to Carbis Bay and St Ives, just to the north of the main A30 after it bypasses Hayle and where it swings southwestwards across country towards Penzance on the south coast, about six miles away.

Lelant Saltings was built in 1978 as a park and ride station to relieve traffic congestion in St Ives and Carbis Bay.

The initial segment of this modern pilgrim route coincides with the South West Coast Path as far as the western end of Carbis Bay.

[2] The West Cornwall Golf Club is situated to the east of the village overlooking St Ives Bay and Godrevy Island.