I am getting increasingly frustrated by the planning process in Cornwall. As I have written before, Westminster has imposed an inappropriate, unsustainable and undeliverable housing target on Cornwall, which means that council officers have taken the view that we no longer have a “five-year land supply.”
In this scenario, the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework states that a “tilted balance” comes into play and housing applications should be approved unless “adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.” It adds that particular regard should be paid to “key policies for directing development to sustainable locations, making effective use of land, securing well-designed places and providing affordable homes …”
I referred three planning applications to the recent meeting of the Central Sub-Area Planning Committee but, in spite of everything I said, all three were approved.
I was most surprised that the first application of the three was allowed. It was a low-density development of seven-to-nine properties in open countryside, within a field measuring three quarters of a hectare, to the east of Indian Queens. This “planning in principle” application therefore fell below the threshold [of ten] for local-needs housing.
At the meeting, I pointed out that another similar application had recently been turned down in Probus. It was also for nine open-market properties in three-quarters of a hectare. The refusal notice for the development stated the site was “located outside of the defined settlement” and it represented an “undesirable extension and incongruous pocket of development into the countryside.” It added that it would result in another field becoming developable, there was an inefficient use of land and there was a failure to maximise the opportunity to deliver affordable housing.
This was exactly the same scenario as at Indian Queens, and I argued that both proposals should be treated the same, but that did not materialise.
The other two applications were in Higher Fraddon, on land that the Parish’s Neighbourhood Plan had sought to protect from unfettered development. One was for five detached open-market properties, with an indicative layout which showed the dwellings were similar to nearby bungalows that have been on the market for £525,000-£550,000. One section of the committee report even stated that “the current proposal would respond to the housing crisis by increasing the supply of housing and improving the availability and access to homes contributing towards a step-change in the supply of affordable homes across Cornwall …”
But none of the homes would be affordable and help someone in housing need. Is it any wonder, I am getting so exasperated by it all?
Article by Cllr Dick Cole published in the Cornish Guardian (26th November 2025) and West Briton newspapers (27th November 2025)