A hotel in Falmouth must ensure that plans to replace garages and staff accommodation with six houses – must be 50/50 for staff and hotel guests.

At a meeting of Falmouth Town Council's planning committee on Monday, councillors considered the application from the Royal Duchy Hotel.

The hotel was previously refused planning permission for six residential mews houses to be sold on the open market.

However, after the refusal in June, CAD Planning submitted a further pre-application enquiry to Cornwall Council asking about the possibility of a scheme for staff and hotel use instead.

This has led to the new application, rather than an appeal over the previous refusal. It is once again for the demolition of the garages, storage buildings and former staff accommodation at the back of the hotel, on Emslie Road, to replace with six mews houses.

The first application was supported by the town council on the condition that they were rented to local people and key workers only at an affordable rent.

Speaking on Monday, Falmouth mayor Steve Eva said: "It would be very difficult to turn this down therefore we should support it.

"Bearing in mind that we have had a comment under their breath just now on 'How long will it be before it becomes an Air BnB?'

"But that's not the issue tonight, the issue's on the table and what they've done is basically what we wanted them to do and in that respect we can't turn it down."

Councillors voted to recommend approval on the condition that the split of the houses was 50/50; three of houses for staff accommodation and three for hotel guests.

The proposed dwellings will be two and a half storeys. From Emslie Road, the terrace will read as two-storey mews houses.

One of the properties has no accommodation on the ground floor, enabling access under the building to a new rear parking court for five or six cars and secure storage for bicycles.

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The properties have a small private terrace or balcony on every level. 

The development includes a minimum of ten dedicated car parking spaces in total

The hotel is a well-established tourist business in Falmouth, with the building being over 130 years old.

The company (Brend Hotels), which has one other business in Cornwall (The Carlyon Bay Hotel and golf course, St Austell), is a key employer in Falmouth employing 70 employees at the site.