Councillors in Penryn have voted against supporting plans for a 2,000 bed student village on land between Treluswell and Treliever to the north of the town.

Members of the town's planning committee heard a presentation from planning agent Martin Pollard, of Axis, who outline plans for a mixture of town houses and flats accommodating not just first years, but second and third year, postgraduate, and international students.

Developers Ocean Reach plan to build shops and eateries, a budget hotel and a family pub/restaurant, sporting facilities, a pedestrian cycleway to campus, and a park-and-ride which Mr Pollard said would be "a benefit to the town."

He told councillors that the development, called Penvose Student Village, would be needed if the universities received permission to expand their intake at the campus by 2,500, but "in addition to that is what's happening in the towns at the moment."

The new accommodation, he said, could provide "a viable, high-quality alternative" to houses of multiple occupation (HMOs), and he added that "with the advent of student fees" students are looking for "more expensive and high quality accommodation."

He also told councillors that putting the students in one place would free up other sites for other land uses.

Mr Pollard also tried to sway councillors by telling them that plans by FXPlus, the company which runs Penryn Campus, to build 1,049 new student beds on-site were unlikely to all come to fruition. He added that although the land had not been earmarked for development in Cornwall Council's emerging Development Plan Document (DPD) - which currently carries no weight with planning inspectors anyway - land currently occupied by Treliever Equestrian Centre was unlikely to be brought forward as the owner does not want to sell it.

Asked about plans for the hotel, he said it would be small enough not to impact on the business of local accommodation providers, and would mostly cater for visitors to the university, as would the pub/restaurant.

Councillors also asked him about the accommodation pricing, which he said would be able to "compete" with HMOs, while also offering the "amenities and facilities for a student to thrive."

However, he added: "It's not going to be for everyone, some students want the town experience."

Councillor Shelley Peters asked where the park and ride - which is aimed at visitors to the two towns - "will be riding to", and Mr Pollard said the route would head into Falmouth and return via Penryn.

And Councillor Mary May asked if the developers had found someone to take on the GP's surgery, the hotel and shops, and if they had the official backing of the universities.

Mr Pollard said they were offering the surgery to Penryn Surgery, adding: "The last DPD said there was a shortfall in doctors."

He also said the developers have been in discussions with a lot of student housing providers, and there was "a lot of interest" from hotel operators, but there was "no firm take up" as no company would commit without firm planning consent.

He said the universities are remaining neural, as they have with all private accommodation proposals, while Cornwall Council gave a "positively weighted" response to a pre-planning application.

After the presentation, Councillor John Langan noted that the application had drawn little objection from statutory bodies, just "people asking for things to be done correctly." He added that public objections were mainly from people living nearby opposed to the "impact on what was green fields."

Mr Langan said he would like to support the application, as 2,00 student beds would be "500 houses not used in Falmouth and Penryn," although he conceded that whether students used it would depend on the cost."

However, Councillor Rich Mitchell proposed that the council object to the application on three points: the site is not allocated for development by Cornwall Council, the university had said it can provide accommodation for an increase in student numbers, and it would be development on a green field site. Councillor Shelley Peters added that it would also constitute over development and have a negative visual impact.

Mr Mitchell's proposal was passed unanimously.

The application for outline planning consent is due to be determined by April 13, and can be viewed on Cornwall Council's website using reference PA16/11983.

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