Villagers are calling for Cornwall councillors to reject plans to demolish a riverside bungalow and build three houses in its place.

An application has gone in for the property, called Roseneath, which is on th A390 between Denas Water and Union Hill, in Tresillian.

The four-bed houses are of a modern design and sit alongside the river on the main road through the village.

St Clement Parish Council said it objects to the scheme ‘due to overdevelopment, poor design, the mass and scale of the proposed properties, flooding concerns and the impact on the AONB’.

And residents have agreed, sending dozens of statements to the council in protest.

One person said it was a ‘ridiculous application to greedily cram properties onto a vulnerable site’.

They continued: “The environmental considerations alone should be enough to deny this development, but aside from those, it is far too ambitious and not at all in keeping with what is currently there - a small, modest, single story bungalow.

“This application, if successful, would potentially open up the whole riverbank to development and an ancient and precious habitat would be lost. Truro is already spreading across our countryside, this would be a step too far.

“I’m also guessing the proposed dwellings would be in an expensive bracket of the market, contributing nothing to the village or to local people struggling to find affordable housing.”

Another said the houses looked like they were about ‘maximum profit’ and do not help in any way the lack of housing in Tresillian or Cornwall as a whole.

And a third suggested an alternative development: “The space is not suitable for three large residential buildings and certainly not of three storeys.

“The area around this is a natural space of woodland, estuary and reedbeds that many people in Tresillian and from far beyond love to come to walk. The most appropriate use of this space would be to build a small cafe, in keeping with the natural surroundings, and with further additional parking for people coming to walk along the estuary.

“This would be a lovely amenity for the village and it would be a benefit and attraction for people coming to walk.

“It could be done without increasing the footprint of the existing site, providing a lovely indoor venue for birdwatchers, employment for local people, additional parking spaces, and a community amenity.

“This would be far more appropriate than trying to squash three enormous three storey buildings into this space.”