Forty homes refused in village near Penryn due to pedestrian safety fears
A planning committee's been told a string of near misses on the road leading up the site had left many elderly people afraid to cross the road
A development of 40 new homes, which would provide 12 affordable houses in a village near Penryn, has been refused due to concerns about the safety of pedestrians if it is built.
Kingsley Developments applied to build the mix of bungalows and houses on land adjacent to Melrose Church Road, Mabe Burnthouse.
The application came before a meeting of Cornwall Council’s west area planning committee today (Monday, October 12) due to concerns raised by divisional member Cllr Cllr Anna Thomason-Kenyon. The committee was told by officers that access to the site was considered safe and suitable, though nearby pavements narrow in places which requires people to cross the road.
Linda Fitzgeorge-Butler was one of two residents who spoke against the development. “This application fails to demonstrate a continuous safe and inclusive pedestrian connection between the site and our primary school, bus stops and village facilities.”
She said the council’s own highways company Cormac had found long-standing problems with traffic congestion and safety in Mabe, adding “42,896 vehicles were recorded between January 2025 and October 2025 coming down Antron Hill, so these numbers can probably be doubled for traffic going in the other direction”. Mrs Fitzgeorge-Butler said that statistics show a “staggering” quarter of a million vehicles cut through Mabe every year.
She told the planning committee that there have been a lot of “near-misses” on the road leading to the proposed development, with many elderly villagers too frightened to cross.
Cllr Keith West, representing Mabe Parish Council, said the application provided “zero benefit” to Mabe. “The local need has already been entirely absorbed and Mabe currently operates a six-unit affordable housing surplus.” He said the village had exceeded its housing targets by 315%.
He also aired safety concerns, saying that the footpaths can’t be widened due to houses on either side of the road.
Cllr Mike Thomas said: “This is the third time that I have sat on a committee that has looked at housing in Mabe.” He asked Cllr West why he thought the village was such an attractive place for people to build houses.
“I can answer that quite simply – they see it as a means to make money,” responded the parish councillor.
Nathan Gilbert spoke for applicant Kingsley Developments and said that the proposal was policy compliant and stressed that Cornwall Council’s highways officer supported the scheme. He said 63 households were on the affordable homes list for the village “so there is a need”.
Cllr James Ball said there was 10-metre section opposite the New Inn with “absolutely no footpath whatsoever and it’s quite narrow”. He added: “I think you’d have a hard job to walk down that safely as an adult, never mind if you are trying to take a child to school.”
The council’s highways officer admitted there was a “challenging highway network there”, but he felt traffic calming measures installed by Cormac along the section of road in 2022, combined with a 20mph speed limit, mitigated any concerns.
“If I was using my wheelchair to come out of that site to access the school, there is no way that I could safely go down that path, no way whatsoever,” added Cllr Ball. “As a proposed development, I haven’t got any major issues, but I do have issues with pedestrian access.
“Potentially we’ve got 40 young people that could move into this development, that’s two movements a day, so potentially 80 young people travelling through that narrow section of road.
“I just don’t think it’s safe enough. I have concerns that we’re going to end up having an accident there where a young person could be really badly injured.”
He recommended that the plan should be refused due to pedestrian safety concerns and safe access due to the lack of a continuous footway, which was seconded by Cllr Rowland O’Connor. The vote was unanimously won in favour of refusal.
Local member Cllr Anna Thomason-Kenyon, who brought the application before the committee in the hope that it would be refused, said before the meeting: “Planning has to mean something. Mabe went through the considerable work of producing a Neighbourhood Development Plan so that the community could have a meaningful say in where and how development takes place.
“I recognise that Cornwall needs more homes, including genuinely affordable homes, and this application would provide 40 properties, including 12 affordable homes. Those are real benefits and they should be properly weighed in the balance, but supporting new housing does not mean that every site is automatically the right site.”