History

According to the planning file 565 letters of objection have been received, but the reception staff at the planning office, and our records show that there have been 714 objections lodged .
A big thank you to you all who wrote letters.

The application was to have been considered by the Strategic Planning Committee on 27th May 2010, but has been deferred until a later meeting, it seems that some of the developer's submitted studies were not carried out to the satisfaction of statutory consultees. We will publish more information when it is available.

S.O.U.L. have commissioned three peer reviews which looked at some of the reports submitted by the developer. The findings from our peer reviews have revealed inconsistencies.
Two of our peer reviews has been passed to the Planning Officer, and another will be sent shortly.
We have checked the planning file and some of our concerns have obviously been picked up by statutory consultees.

In March, we sat in on a planning appeal for the Golphin Farm site, for which the developer had applied to build 107 homes. The Council fought the appeal on the basis of the percentage of affordable homes to be provided. In the event, Cornwall Council lost, and the developer will build 40% affordable homes on the site.

On Wed. 21st April, the Central Planning Committee approved an application for 12 dwellings on a greenfield site in Scredda, which is in the Parish of Treverbyn. The Planning Officer described the proposal as a "slight" departure from policy. The plan was strongly opposed by residents and Treverbyn Parish Council.
In speaking against the proposal, I was able to highlight policy areas which should have resulted in outright rejection of the application.
Cornwall Council's Policy 75 - exceptions sites for affordable housing is a saved policy from Restormel which prohibits this type of development.

The council have also published a document on "Localism", which starts "Cornwall is made up of many small communities. We must ensure that they are a strong and vibrant part of our local democracy. The purpose of the localism agenda is to support this goal by providing opportunities for communities to influence decision making and to ensure that public services reflect local circumstances."

I have written to Phil Mason, Head of Planning and Regeneration to ask for an explanation, and to Councillor Kaczmarek, Cabinet Member for Planning to ask which of the Council's published policies may be ignored by Planning Officers. We don't want to be ignored when we write letters of objection write letters of objection quoting the councils policies if those policies can be ignored by planning staff.

The democratic process however must be seen as a much greater concern. I was disappointed that no councillor asked the Planning Officer to justify his apparent dismissal of the Parish Council objection.

If I was asked to describe the planning process from what we saw at the planning meeting, I would assume the following:

• A developer approaches the council, and asks if he can build a small number of dwellings on a greenfield site, outside of the development envelope.
• The Planning Officer advises that such a proposal would not be acceptable, unless an element of "affordable" housing was included.
• The developer draws up a scheme for open market and affordable dwellings, and submits an application.
• The Planning Officer recommends approval of the application because it was made as a result of his guidance
• The Planning Committee approve the application because they are threatened by the appeal process. Permission is granted.

If this analysis seems plausible, perhaps you would consider writing to Cllr Kaczmarek and Kevin Lavery at Cornwall Council asking for comments. You may also consider asking your Cornwall Councillor about the role of Town and Parish Council's in planning.

When looking at the planning file, we came across the notes of a meeting between St Austell College, and the developer's consultants. If you feel that you suspect that consultation with the community has been forgotten, St Austell College's telephone number is 01726 226626.