Fears of more second homes in Cornwall near Newquay Airport

The central sub-area committee met at Lys Kernow / County Hall in Truro to discuss a plan by Acorn Property Group for mixed-use development at the former Arla creamery in Trevarrian near Mawgan Porth. It would include 23 houses and two retail units.

The proposal had been recommended for approval with a planning report noting: “The social, economic and environmental benefits associated with introducing this development, comprising of employment floorspace with open market homes, carries great weight in support of approval.”

The report added: “This proposal would result in the loss of a substantial area of business space. This weighs against approval, with supporting text in the Cornwall Local Plan making clear that employment sites in Cornwall remain an important part of supporting economic growth.

"The actual harm is tempered, as the applicant is committing to ensuring that the business space proposed by this application would result in better quality employment space in terms of sustainability.”

How the new estate at Trevarrian, which has been refused, would have looked (CAD Architects)

However, members of the committee heard some opposition to the plans, which many residents of Trevarrian believe would almost double the size of the hamlet near Cornwall Airport Newquay.

Jamie Phillips, who has lived in Trevarrian for over 50 years, represented residents, 55 of whom attended a public meeting in January and objected to the plans.

He said: “Thirty nine people oppose the scheme on the planning website; there are no public comments in support of the development. This proposal aims to utilise the whole site, losing the green spaces and rural feel. The main concern is that it’s completely out of keeping with the hamlet of Trevarrian.

“The development is too big with 23 houses and retail units crammed into a small site. The proposed affordable housing will be built on greenfield land, obscure a farm entrance raising issues of tractors and machinery accessing a main road.

"Trevarrian has only limited facilities – a pub, a guest house and a holiday park. It is virtually impossible to get to see a doctor at the local surgery unless you call at the crack of dawn.

"The primary school at St Mawgan is over-subscribed with no space for expansion. Allowing this development will only add to the incredible stress on the infrastructure in the area.”

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He added: “Cornwall is already littered with holiday homes and many residents of the area concerned that many of these properties will simply end up as this rather than going to local people.”

Cllr William Corbett, of Mawgan-in-Pydar Parish Council which also opposed the plan, told the committee: “It must be pretty rare to find an employment site of this size and quality in the countryside. It must be fundamentally unsustainable to level modern employment space just to allow a developer to put a housing estate there. It does not accord with the Local Plan.

"This isn’t going to help the housing crisis – these are largely probably going to go to holiday homes.”

He didn’t believe there had been long enough for the site to find a new commercial tenant. Cllr Corbett said the site went on the market at Christmas 2021 and contracts were exchanged the following March. “That’s hardly the nine months stipulated in policy.”

The parish councillor added: “Surely it’s a nonsense to demolish a modern factory building like this and fill it up with houses which are going to do nothing to solve the housing crisis because they’re going to be beyond the pocket of most local people?”

Duncan Powell, agent for the applicant, stressed it was a brownfield site and was now redundant. “Something needs to be done with the land,” he said.

He compared the proposed commercial element to the “vibrant” Hawksfield trading area at Wadebridge and argued that the properties would not be crammed in. “The logical and right thing for this site is a mixed use scheme with a range of housing, some of it for locals in perpetuity, and start-up businesses.”

However, local councillor Paul Wills didn’t agree: “It’s not in keeping with the area. If granted it would open up the whole of the [area around the] B3276 for development and it would alter the character of Trevarrian forever. I’m asking you to listen to the concerns of local people, the parish council and me as local member.”

Fellow councillors did indeed listen to him. The committee voted to refuse the application based on the layout and design being inappropriate for the size of Trevarrian and the loss of a substantial business site.