A plan to build affordable homes for "proper job locals" only in a village in mid Cornwall has caused controversy in the area in the four years since it was first mooted. A meeting of Cornwall Council's central area planning committee heard today (Monday, July 29) that there were very real concerns in the area about road safety if the houses were built.
The Cornwall Community Land Trust applied to the council to build 23 social rent houses (at around 50 per cent of the market rate) alongside four self-build houses for sale on the open market on land south west of Hendra Prazey in St Dennis, near St Austell.
The mix of one, two and three bedroom homes would be built on three fields on the edge of the village near the SUEZ recycling and recovery centre. The meeting heard there are currently 134 households on the housing register; 127 of which have a local connection to St Dennis.
Read next: Cornish town could get 325 new homes
Read next: Hundreds of new homes among latest planning applications
Planning officer Alex Lawrey said: "One of the principle issues with this application has been pedestrian and vehicle access. We are recommending this for approval but based upon works to improve pedestrian safety and limit speeds to 20mph from the current 30mph and other works to slow traffic down."
One of the approaches to the site goes through a railway arch, which is single lane and a "potential risk" for pedestrians and vehicles. The applicant had conducted a road safety audit which resulted in no evidence of any crashes and showed vehicle speeds of around 21mph, plus there is an alternative approach to the area earmarked for housing.
Get the best stories and latest news delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you want here.
The planning department believed the benefits of the development during a housing crisis outweighed the harm to the landscape, and the issues with access could be resolved.
St Dennis Parish Council chair Julia Clarke told the meeting her council strongly objected to the plan. "We would normally welcome a development of this type in the village and we have been having proactive conversations with Cornwall Council about affordable housing, but we consider the location for this application to be inappropriate. In fact, we struggle to see how the applicants could have chosen a worst site."
She pointed out concerns with the road access, which has no pavements, and could prove dangerous. The council believed, even with traffic calming, it would still be perilous. Cllr Clarke added that the area was very marshy and building on it could cause flood problems.
A spokesperson for the community land trust responded: "We recognise there are local concerns about the suitability of the site. We've listened to these and introduced design mitigations - including drainage, junction design and biodiversity net gain - to the satisfaction of the council's planning officer, consultees and Natural England."
The meeting heard the houses would be "affordable homes for locals forever", for residents who can prove they have a connection to St Dennis. Cllr Michael Bunney wanted that verified: "It's brilliant to have 23 social rent houses but will they go to proper St Dennis locals?" Yes, they will, he was told, and tightly controlled by the community land trust.
⚠️ Want the latest Cornwall breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join CornwallLive on WhatsAppand we'll send breaking news and top stories directly to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Local member Cllr Dick Cole said there were errors with recent affordable homes developments in St Dennis which should have gone to local people and didn't. "There was an almighty cock-up," he added, "so I'm pleased you've confirmed they will go to St Dennis households."
He said: "I'm quite frustrated by this application. It sets a good example of how not to necessarily bring forward a proposal for affordable housing. I accept that the land trust originally worked with the parish council on seeking out land for an exception site, but they then managed to select a site which the parish council could not support.
"Twenty three affordable units would normally be extremely warmly welcomed, but here there has been real significant concern about the site."
Cllr Bunney, who proposed a vote of approval, added: "I'm the youngest person on this committee and I'm nearly 50. Younger generations are absolutely desperate for somewhere to live. I recognise the issues about the site - it doesn't sound like a perfect site at all, but we have to take with good faith the comments that have been made about the local lettings plan so we have 23 homes that go to, in my words, proper job St Dennis locals. That's really important in the housing emergency we have in Cornwall." He also welcomed the promise of traffic calming.
The application was approved with six in favour, none against and one abstention.
To sign up to the Cornwall Politics newsletter click here.
