CONCERNS were raised at a planning meeting that a hamlet on Cornwall’s north coast is the completely wrong place for an affordable homes-led development as it has no facilities.

Applicant Mr M Noone applied for permission in principle to build up to seven houses on a field, currently used for horses, to the west of Malvern and Pudin cottages in Rose, between Perranporth and Goonhavern.

The meeting of Cornwall Council’s central sub-area planning committee on Tuesday, August 27, heard that it was likely four of the houses would be ‘affordable’ while three would be sold on the open market.

Cornwall Council’s highways officer objected to the scheme as did Perranzabuloe Parish Council, but planning officer Sophie Rogers asked councillors to grant consent as the location of the development adjacent to a settlement of new houses worked in its favour, the benefit of the affordable housing outweighed harm to the character of the area and the amount of development was considered to be proportionate to the size of the area.

Greg Spray spoke on behalf of concerned Rose residents, a number of whom were present at the meeting. He said: “This land is not infill, it’s not brownfield, it is listed by Natural England as Grade 3a good quality agricultural land and has been used for many generations as farming land up until 2009. Since then it was sold to the current owners on the proviso it would only be used for horses.

“It is still currently being farmed, growing hay and for horses. It has three times been unanimously refused by Perranzabuloe Parish Council.”

He listed the reasons why a previous application for three open market houses on the site was refused by Cornwall Council, including development in the open countryside eroding the character of the area and the loss of an agricultural field.

Mr Spray added: “If approved there would be six or seven houses in the open countryside, which is against all the reasons it was initially refused. With the applicant owning a further three adjoining fields, the precedent is truly terrible for the hamlet. With 25 objections from local residents in a hamlet there’s most definitely a lack of community support.

“While I we support the need for affordable housing, the hamlet of Rose is just not the right place. There are no community facilities, services or safe footpaths and it would only encourage more car use within the hamlet. Both proposed accesses are on private land the applicant doesn’t own.”

Alan Bowers, chairman of the parish council planning committee, stressed that his council had turned down similar plans three times in the past year. “There are five new houses opposite – each one of those is valued at £850,000. They’re currently on the open market and there’s no interest in any of them,” he added.

Chris Montagu, planning agent for the applicant, stated that the the provision of the affordable-led housing scheme complies with Cornwall Council’s Local Plan policies and the draft Neighbourhood Development Plan. He said there is an acute need for affordable housing in the parish, and this form of development “should be welcomed” in a period of housing crisis.

“These will be the first affordable houses delivered in Rose. There are 211 households in the parish on the housing register and whilst 45 affordable homes have been delivered, there is still an overwhelming need for affordable housing in the parish,” added Mr Montagu.

He replied to concerns about vehicular access over private land by saying his client had accessed the land via a bridleway for a significant period of time as had the previous occupant. The meeting heard that this would be a civil matter rather than a planning issue.

Local councillor Adrian Harvey said he wasn’t against affordable housing but it needed to be in the right place “and Rose isn’t the right place”. He said all amenities were in Perranporth or Goonhavern, which are both two miles away. He added that the nearest primary schools were both full.

Perranporth councillor Steve Arthur told the meeting he has lived in Rose since he was ten. “Please take my word for it, this isn’t the right place for housing.” He suggested turning the application down and waiting for a more detailed plan.

Cllr John Fitter called the planning in principle bid a “horse before the cart sort of application”. He added: “Is this location suitable in principle for the type of development we have in front of us? I don’t think it is. If it was to go forward, I’d hope the four affordables would be rented accommodation, because that it what we’re desperately seeking.”

The committee voted to refuse the permission in principle bid on the grounds the housing would cause harm to the landscape and lead to loss of best and most versatile land.