PLANS to create two new residential properties at a housing development in Newquay have been refused due to concerns the scheme would fail to provide adequate living conditions for prospective occupiers.

Cornish Council rejected a planning application to construct a single-storey extension to provide a self-contained dwelling at Aqua Blue Apartments in Henver Road as well as convert a residents’ gym and portable sauna into a permanent self-contained dwelling.

The plans follow the housing scheme being earmarked to undergo hundreds of thousands of pounds of repairs.

More than 32 households renting properties there have been told they must move out by October 29 so that owners Interceptor Opportunities Ltd can carry out substantial repairs to the roof, cladding and flooring over several months after the two buildings were deemed structurally unsafe.

Many tenants, some of whom are disabled and vulnerable, are still desperately looking for somewhere else to live. The residents fear they could become homeless due to the number of tenants that are now looking to find alternative accommodation locally.

A Cornwall Council planning officer said: “The proposed scheme would bring some social, economic and environmental benefits arising from the construction of the development, on previously developed land within a highly sustainable location, and its subsequent occupation, weighing in favour of the proposal, however these are relatively modest having regard to the scale of the proposal.

“At a time of housing crisis and at a point where the council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites these are afforded significant weight. However, development proposals should be approved unless the benefits of doing so would be substantially outweighed by any adverse effects.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

“Against the aforementioned benefits, the proposal would fail to provide adequate living conditions for prospective occupiers. As such, the development does not represent sustainable development.”