Objections to houses in Cornwall World Heritage Site

Many local residents oppose the plan because they believe it would impact on a World Heritage Site, which protects the Duchy’s mining history.

There are also safety concerns, with one objector saying her mother died in a car crash on a similar road.

Mrs M Taylor-Smith had applied to Cornwall Council for permission in principle to build between two and four houses on land at the rear of Godolphin View, Bosence Road at Townshend, near Hayle.

The application was called before the council’s west area planning committee for discussion on Monday (July 22) by local member Cllr John Martin, who supported concerns raised by St Erth Parish Council as well as having his own concern regarding the impact on the World Heritage Site.

The meeting heard that an objection had been received from the Cornwall Mining World Heritage Site office on the basis that the development harms what remains of a historic smallholding landscape, but planning officer Katie Lever noted the area has been developed over time and the significance of the field had been eroded.

It was a similar fear to one heard over an another application in the same meeting - this time within the Tregonning and Gwinear Mining Districts World Heritage Site (WHS).

You can read more about that here: New housing estate would be 'detrimental to village’s mining heritage'

With regards to the Townshend application, Dr Peter Cormie spoke against the proposal on behalf of local residents, saying it was a greenfield site on good agricultural land in a heritage area.

He argued there was poor connection to local services and if approved would set a precedent for further development in the rural area.

Cllr Tim Greatrex, of St Erth Parish Council, added that it had received an unusual volume of public objection to the application. The parish council opposed the plan due to its rural location and argued there were better locations for such a scheme to meet local housing needs. There are currently 79 households on the housing register seeking homes in the parish.

An aerial photograph showing where the housing development would be built on the outskirts of Townshend (Pic: Google Earth / Cornwall Council)

Before the meeting there had been 16 letters of objection sent in to Cornwall Council, including from one woman who said: "Please do not grant planning in principle for this development unless you are sure that it has a safe vehicular access. My mother died in a car crash pulling out on to a busy road such as this. Side impact from a vehicle travelling at 30mph will kill."

She went on to add: "It would be an accident waiting to happen. Please show in response when decision is made that access has been addressed. I do not want another death linked to inadequate access."

Planning committee member Cllr Loveday Jenkin said: “In no way would anyone in the local area consider this to be a settlement. It’s a long way from Townshend, it’s on a very fast stretch of road, there’s no way to easily or safely walk along that road and there’s a loose straggle of historic buildings.”

The committee unanimously agreed to refuse on the grounds the development would introduce an undesirable built form into the open countryside and override what remains of a historic smallholding landscape in the World Heritage Site.

Councillors agreed any benefits of the affordable housing development would be outweighed by the harm it would cause.