A proposed development at Duporth has been opposed unanimously by St Austell Bay Parish Council while the developer consults with affected neighbours. 

The plans on land south-east of Rashleigh Road, now proposes 10 dwellings, having increased it from five. 

In a statement on Cornwall Council’s online planning portal, the parish council said: “The houses are too large and are out of character with the rest of the development. There is no need for five-and six-bedroomed houses in the parish. In fact the overall housing need for this parish has already been met.”

It also pointed out that there would be “insufficient parking allocated for houses of this size”, adding: “The revised design is overbearing and will impact on the privacy of neighbouring properties by way of overlooking.

“The developer has indicated that he will consult with affected neighbours and the parish council would like the application to be withdrawn whilst these discussions take place.”

The proposed development has been contentious, with many members of the public present at a meeting on Thursday night. 

Simon Birch, who owns an adjoining property in Duporth Bay, expressed support for the site being developed “in a sympathetic manner following sensible and considered consultation”, but objected to “the increase in scale and impact of the changes”.

He pointed to an original planning application in 2006 for five houses to develop the Duporth holiday park site along its existing lines. A revised submission was approved in 2016, increasing the number of properties from five to 10 and “breaking the development lines”. 

Mr Birch said the new scheme had “some welcome improvements but also concerning issues”. 

“These houses are set up to be holiday party pads,” he said. “This is contrary to local plan objectives to develop housing for local use as well as allowing quasi business use in residential areas. This will be incredibly intrusive to adjoining properties, with high occupant levels, traffic and noise. Perhaps some form of restriction on usage for permanent residential use could be applied.”

Hannah Blizzard highlighted the lack of proposed parking for potentially 12 people per house. “The estate is already has many parking issues and this would only make this worse.”

She added: “Nowhere on the plans is the access to the beach mentioned. While this might seem like a trivial matter, residents of the estate pay a service charge for the upkeep of this path, and access and building works that cause it to erode further or block the access will impact financially on all current residents of the estate.

“It seems unclear as to how these properties will ‘help’ with the local housing crisis. 

“As the wider surroundings of Duporth are classified as an area of low deprivation, how are large, expensive six-bed houses going to help the local people get onto the property market? They will just end up being second homes or rentals.”

Stewart Chapman expressed concern that the houses would be sold with a sea view. “In order to achieve this, a further variation will be applied for to remove the trees which stand on the Cornish wall which constitutes our boundary. 

“These trees have been protected by a preservation order of many years standing.”

He also drew attention to local wildlife, including tawny owls, a recently reintroduced bat population, the occasional deer and a “resident hedgehog”.  

John Freeland, company director of developer Blakesley Estates, attended the meeting “to open channels of communication with the community and to offer reassurance”. 

A spokesperson from Blakesley Estates said: “We are very open to listening to the community and working collaboratively to execute this scheme. 

“We’re getting a lot of support and interest already in this development, and are already being asked about the details of these properties. 

“The current consented scheme is for 10 four-bed houses. We have modified the designs to maximise the living space and create fantastic family homes. We strive to fulfil our plans to deliver new homes for the local community to benefit from.

“As we are a small business, we use local suppliers and contractors which supports the local economy. We don’t have huge contracts with large corporate companies like many of the market leading developers.”

The application is currently under review with the relevant consultees and the Local Planning Authority.