Plans to build a new housing development on greenfield land in Newquay have been approved despite local opposition. 

Treveth Holdings, which is a company owned by Cornwall Council, has been given the go-ahead to construct 50 homes at Bedowan Meadows, which will provide a mix of open market and affordable homes. 

Residents campaigned to save the green space following concerns about the impact the development would have on wildlife and fears the scheme would exacerbate existing issues in the community such as flooding and traffic congestion. 

Cornwall Council’s Central Sub-Area planning committee gave the scheme the green light at its meeting on Monday.  

The committee previously deferred making a decision on the plans purely on the issue of whether an acoustic fence proposed for the extension of the Concrete Waves skatepark might have a negative impact on residents living there. 

Councillor Joanna Kenny, the chairman of Newquay Town Council’s planning committee, said: “I totally sympathise with the local residents’ regret at losing what they considered a green space but actually this was always a development site that has been overgrown over decades.    

“And I welcome the plans of Treveth, who are providing much-needed rental accommodation both affordable and at market prices, whose policy is to provide quality accommodation for local people not just for the affordable houses but across all the market value housing within the estate.     

“And yes, despite all the building that is going on at Nansledan and other places, there is an ever-growing need in Newquay for housing for local people which they can afford to live in. 

“The town council decided to ‘agree to disagree’ with the officer’s recommendation to support but that was purely on the basis that we would have preferred using both of the existing spurs out of Bedowan Meadows for access and egress and the committee perforce has to accept the highways conclusion that the proposal was acceptable.     

“If we do get traffic congestion and the local residents’ prediction of the inadequacy of the sewerage and water run-off arrangements, the best we can do is say ‘we told you so’. “There was very little debate but there was long questioning on the technicalities of the acoustic wall alongside the skatepark. It is currently agreed to be negotiated between the town council and Treveth.”