'Affordable' Cornwall homes approved despite pedestrian safety worries
It's after a previous planning application was refused last year due to safety concerns
A planning application to build an “affordable-led” housing development in a village near Helston has been approved despite concerns about pedestrian safety.
The permission in principle (PiP) consent for up to six new homes on a field near Hendra Lane, Ashton, came after a previous planning application was refused last year due to safety concerns.
Cornwall Council’s planning department recommended approval of the PiP, saying its highways officer was happy with the new application.
The PiP route is an alternative way of obtaining planning permission for housing-led developments which separates the consideration of matters of principle from the technical detail of the development.
Given the council’s current lack of a five‑year housing land supply and Cornwall’s housing crisis, the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied, said a planning officer’s report.
However, local residents were not happy and neither was the parish council nor the area’s Cornwall Council member.
Breage Parish Council voted not to support the application last year. The council believes it is an unsuitable location and represents further overdevelopment in Ashton and would exacerbate an issue with existing traffic given the narrowness of the lane.
The parish council argues the application site lies outside the village’s boundaries and, due to policy, should not be approved.
A parish representative said that 69% of residents wanted expansion of the main village to be resisted, while 93% wanted open countryside protected.
The Friends of Hendra Close Residents’ Association had also written to the council opposing the scheme.
Maureen Gibson, who represented the residents’ association, told the committee: “We agree with the parish council that Ashton’s infrastructure is already saturated.”
She said that Hendra Lane is too narrow to allow any vehicle to enter or exit within the applicants’ land, meaning that vehicles will not be able to turn without breaching into Hendra Close, which is private land and would constitute “civil trespass”. Flood risks are also of concern locally.
Chartered town planner John Pender spoke on behalf of the applicants. “As you know, it’s a reapplication of one refused last year solely because of pedestrian safety.
“Your officers recommend approval of the current application because there are no adverse impacts.” He said the new application addresses the original highways concerns.
Mr Pender added it would increase the amount of housing, particularly affordable dwellings, in a sustainable location.
Local member Cllr Jay Hodgetts (Porthleven, Breage & Germoe, Liberal Democrat) said that the council cited that the previous application “created an unacceptable impact on pedestrian safety”. He said none of those constraints had altered.
“The physical environment of Hendra Lane is unchanged – no pavement, no street lighting, no refuge for over 100 metres, no visibility improvements, no widening, no land available for relief and no lawful pedestrian alternative.”
Cllr Mike Thomas (Helston North, Independent) added: “We are always told that if the highways officer deems it to be acceptable then that’s it, we haven’t got a leg to stand on so to speak, but clearly from what we’ve heard from the local member, residents and the parish council, they are at odds with the highways officer.
“So are we saying that the highways officer holds all the cards and anyone who lives there and experiences the site and walks that area has no validity in their viewpoint?”
The committee was told that the highways officer was the technical expert and going against his advice had led to costly appeals in the past.
Councillors raised concerns about the access, but also noted there were existing homes already built nearby and there was a need for affordable housing in the parish. A proposal to approve the development was won by seven for and three against.