Falmouth Town Council attended the Public Examination session of the Falmouth/Penryn section of the Cornwall Local Plan Allocations Development Plan Document (‘DPD’) on Tuesday 13th.
New data entered by Cornwall Council pointed to a significant over-supply of purpose built student accommodation if all the allocated sites, Penvose, and the successful appeal sites, come forward. Cornwall Council also proposed a ‘major modification’ to the DPD that would allow unto 400 units of purpose built student accommodation on the Ponsharden site, which straddles the town boundary with Penryn.
The basis of our case was:
1. please get the student accommodation strategy sorted out and in place as quickly as possible, so that we can get our Neighbourhood Plan approved and the policies on HMOs fully into operation, and
2. please recommend that para 7.51 of the DPD – which says no more student accommodation in Falmouth – be upgraded to have full policy status in the DPD.
We also pointed out that the ‘urban extension’ housing sites just outside the town boundary should be required to be designed as sustainable neighbourhoods of Falmouth, rather than simply satellite estates. Our Neighbourhood Plan includes frameworks to help achieve this.
The presiding Inspector, Mr Sims, will issue a report later this spring in which he will decide whether, in the light of these issues, this part of the DPD is ‘sound’ or needs modification.
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