An out of town masterplan has been revealed for Penryn which could see student accommodation, a new doctors' surgery and industrial units created on a brownfield site at Kernick.

A planning application for the student accommodation, which would be created out of recycled shipping containers and make up the first phase of the proposed development plan, has been submitted to Cornwall Council.

In addition to the accommodation, which would house 264 students, there will be capacity for a new Penryn health centre, modern employment space and, prospectively, innovation hubs to assist the growth of the local knowledge-based economy.

The company behind the plans, Irregular Cornwall Ltd, has been established specifically to deliver this scheme and has been in talks with planning officers ahead of the planning application.

The proposed out-of-town scheme has been designed in response to local residents’ concerns regarding the increased demand for student housing within the town centres of Falmouth and Penryn.

The purpose-built accommodation for students would form a part of a South Kernick master plan, be within walking distance of the Penryn Campus, and would have rents set below the current average cost for student accommodation locally, aiming to pull students out of existing town centre HMOs.

Project manager Andy Cook, from Irregular Cornwall, is confident the proposed development would provide a strong alternative to student housing in Falmouth and as well as creating a significant number of local jobs.

“We’re excited to be creating a local solution to the pressures of student accommodation," he said. "The number of students is going to rise - the cap has already been raised by Cornwall Council - so there needs to be a fast and practical solution that deals with local people's objections to in town development and which protects the beautiful greenfield surroundings.

“We want to move quickly to stem the loss of houses that could be used for local families as well as re-vitalising redundant brownfield land.”

While the application is being dealt with Irregular Cornwall’s design team are moving forward the design and preparing the site for development. If approved quickly, work could start in September, with students moving in as early as September 2018.

Phase one of the planning application would accommodate 264 students. In addition it could provide a new health centre with a GP surgery in the old Home Shed building. To move quickly, the proposal sets out a plan to use shipping containers, engineering and transforming them locally into "architecturally designed, vibrant and stylish accommodation."

The student accommodation would be managed by staff, and offer a mix of high quality student rooms for undergraduate, postgraduate and international students, including rooms with disabled access. All rooms would have ensuite facilities and high bandwidth internet and communication networks. The scheme would benefit from landscaped gardens, a swimming pool, gym facilities, and significant provision for cycle storage.

The future master plan aims to provide sufficient levels of parking to be utilised by the entire scheme. There are 14 spaces earmarked for the student accommodation, around 60 for the doctors' surgery/retail unit and a further 326 spaces across the masterplan site as a whole.

The company says that all the required assessments have been carried out, including economic, environmental, traffic and noise level assessments. There are just two people working on the application site and they will be relocated with the developer's help.

Mr Cook added: “We are sensitive to the local needs of the community and hope people will look at the plans and see the benefits, both in terms of easing the pressure on local housing and providing new local jobs. We are trying to get something that works for everybody.”

A website has been set up and Irregular are urging local people to have their say at irregularcornwall.com. The plans will also soon be available at cornwall.gov.uk where people will also be able to lodge their comments.