Helston town councillor Ronnie Williams claims residents of Bulwark are 'living in fear' of Coastline Housing

The startling claims were made by a Helston town councillor following planning permission being given to the building of 75 affordable homes by Coastline on fields next to Bulwark Road.

Ronnie Williams alleged that many more people than those who spoke against it publicly had objected to the development, but were too scared to speak out.

The chief executive of Coastline Housing has since described himself as "extremely concerned and disappointed" at Mr Williams's comments, stressing that the association had a "strong, open and honest" complaints procedure in which every complaint was "treated sensitively and investigated thoroughly and fairly."

Mr Williams had claimed in a meeting of the town council: "The people in these houses, they literally live in fear. If they did complain they would be in fear of losing the roof over their head. When you have got a young family it's easier to keep quiet.

"In this day and age of 2017, the residents of this town living in fear like this I think is disgusting."

Explaining his reasoning for making such accusations, Mr Williams added: "Coastline now are so powerful; they own so much. I think you have got to say they're more powerful than Cornwall Council when it comes down to it."

He pointed to the amount of objectors who had attended the February planning meeting of Helston Town Council, urging members to recommend refusal - something the councillors did, although this ultimately had no effect on the final decision of Cornwall Council.

"I think the decision was made before it was even discussed," added Mr Williams.

His claims came after Cornwall councillor Andrew Wallis told a meeting of the full town council that Cornwall Council had received 27 letters of objection over the application and only eight of these were from the Bulwark area or even in close proximity to the site.

After hearing Mr Williams' allegations, Mr Wallis warned the councillor to be "very mindful of what you're accusing," adding: "I personally take that as a bit of an offence, to myself as the local member. I know it wasn't a done decision."

Mr Wallis also pointed out that while there had been objections, many other people had since spoken of their joy that the houses would be built.

"On Facebook there were an awful lot of comments of support and people contacted me about when and how they can come forward," he added.

Mr Williams' claims appeared to be backed up, however, by mayor Gillian Geer who also told Mr Wallis: "I think you'll find people in Bulwark Road were curtailed. People weren't in a position to speak as openly as they wanted to."

She added that she had been "appalled at the way they were being spoken to" at a drop-in consultation event held by Coastline and its agents as part of the planning process.

Allister Young, chief executive of Coastline Housing, told the Packet: "We were extremely concerned and disappointed to hear the comments from the recent Helston Town Council meeting.

"Our Nansloe development will bring 75 much-needed affordable homes to the people of Helston and will also include a Construction Academy project – a classroom based on site where college students can come to learn the various construction trades as part of a structured course. It’s shaping up to be a fantastic project that will change many lives for the better locally.

"This planning application passed fairly through the planning process as any other application for development would, and any individuals who were concerned obviously had the chance to raise objections directly with Cornwall Council as is the normal process.

"Coastline Housing has a strong, open and honest three-stage complaints procedure and we can guarantee that every complaint is treated sensitively and investigated thoroughly and fairly.

"We would encourage any councillor who has such concerns to come and spend some time with us and find out more about the good work that we do for our customers and local communities."