Falmouth Rugby Club is pushing for local councillors to back plans for housing on its land at Menehay Field on Bickland Water Road, ahead of an official decision next Thursday.

The rugby club wishes to build 226 homes, including 35 per cent affordable, but has faced stiff opposition from councillors despite claiming support from residents.

The land was removed from Cornwall Council's Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD) - the strategic plan which sets out land for development for the period up to 2030 - in favour of the former Vospers site at Ponsharden, as it was felt better to redevelop a brownfield area than to build on green fields. Councillors in Falmouth and Budock have also expressed concern at losing the green buffer zone that separates the town from the village.

However rugby club chairman James Instance said the group wanted to explain the "benefits" of the plan, "not just to the rugby club but to the broader area."

He said the main one was that it would provide residential housing, "there isn't a question as to whether it's student housing," and would be "helping local families and others setting out in the housing market." And he added that unlike many sites which had been approved for the Allocations DPD, the site was "deliverable in the short term."

This is in contrast to the Vospers site, he said, which does not yet have a plan and would also require extensive cleaning up before work could begin.

Mr Instance also said the financial benefits of the development would not be "spirited away for a developer to line their pockets," but would be used for the benefit of the club and the town.

He said: "The rugby club is committed to improving sporting facilities in the area.

"We can build the best rugby facility in the county, the Stadium for Cornwall excepted.

"We have spoken to Falmouth School and will be investing significant funds into the community sports hub... we are looking to improve facilities at Tregenver Field."

And he added that the developers West Country Land had promised to invest £400,000 of section 106 cash to facilitate extra school places created by the development."

Asked about objections from councillors, particularly in Budock, he said: "People will have opposing views but there hasn't been a huge amount of obvious opposition to this."

However he added that the development would be no nearer than 350 metres from Budock Church at any point, mostly screened from the village and the church by a hill, while the heritage impact was "not substantial."

A Cornwall Council cabinet meeting last week discussed the Allocations DPD, including the removal of Menehay from the plan and whether sites not on the document would still be able to go ahead.

Edwina Hannaford, the council's portfolio holder for planning, said while the document was a material consideration for planning, non-strategic applications such as smaller sites would still be considered on their own merits. She said: "Just because it's not on the plan, doesn't mean a planning application won't be forthcoming."

She added that the site had been removed from the document because the sites already allocated would meet local housing requirements.

Mr Instance said the rugby club was "very appreciative" to the cabinet members for "taking the time to look at the plan."

Anyone wishing to look at the plans can go to the council's planning website and search for reference PA16/08236.

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