A fourth attempt by a controversial developer to demolish a riverside bungalow and replace it with three two-storey houses in an area of outstanding natural beauty has been refused.

Objectors commented that the “rehash” application would ruin the area if approved.

A growing number of residents in Tresillian, a riverside village between Truro and St Austell, were concerned about the proposed development being an “eyesore” and its impact on wildlife on the river.

A company called Riverbank, which is part of the Truro-based Stephens & Stephens group, applied to build the houses on land in the village, listed in the documents as being owned by Paul Stephens, boss of the companies bearing his and his wife Helen’s names.

The revised planning application followed the withdrawal of three earlier submissions by the developer for houses on the site between the main A390 road through the village and the Tresillian river.

An earlier application for three-storey homes was dubbed a “disgrace” by concerned residents, while this new revised version has also been slammed, as has the developer behind it on more than 30 public submissions on Cornwall Council’s planning portal.

A previous Stephens & Stephens company and its director Mr Stephens pleaded guilty last year to offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 with regards to the safe disposal of asbestos in connection with their Cliff Edge project on Narrowcliff, Newquay. The now liquidated Stephens & Stephens Developers Ltd went under owing a number of contractors money, leaving many on the edge of bankruptcy.

Cornwall Council’s planning department refused the Tresillian application earlier this month, citing three reasons:

The site is in a highly publicly visible location within the Cornwall National Landscape, the character and scenic beauty of which should be protected from harm.

The proposal for three dwellings would, by virtue of their prominent location, uncharacteristic density and siting at the water front along with the associated light spill, result in an incongruous and unsympathetic cluster of dwellings at odds with the natural waterside valley setting.

The proposed layout fails to provide a good standard of residential amenity in respect of the proposed limited private outdoor amenity space and the constrained access to parking spaces which would require significant manoeuvring to access.

The site is partially within a Coastal Vulnerability Zone and all dwellings would be within this zone. As no up-to-date report has been submitted it is not possible to be confident that the proposed dwellings would not be at risk from coastal erosion within the 100 year lifetime of the development.

Comments against the development included: “The beauty of our incredible village will be completely changed should this development go ahead and the impact on the reed beds and local wildlife does not bear thinking about. The footpath adjacent to the property is regularly used by locals and visitors alike all year round and disruption to the freedom we have to walk that path will be immense and possibly long lasting. To allow this development would go against everything we all love about Tresillian.”