Plans to build up to 60 new homes on land off Antron Hill in Mabe have been rejected by a Cornwall Council planning officer under delegated powers.

The scheme, which had been put forward by SW Strategic Developments and Brisden Properties Ltd, had been vehemently opposed by Mabe Parish Council and a number of local residents. It proposed up to 60 new homes, 35 per cent of which would have been designated as affordable, across the 2.6 hectare site.

The parish council objected claiming there was no need within the village for more housing, either affordable or open market and pointing out the site was not allocated for development. The council also raised concerns about existing traffic issues within the village and at Antron Hill in particular.

"There have been multiple accidents on or around the site of the planned access; many now do not even bother to report the odd minor accident as they feel nothing is being done to rectify the underlying traffic problem," it said. "The road already splits the village of Mabe and crossing is done at your own risk. The plan to remove the traffic island would make crossing this road harder, no matter what other features were put in."

The outline application has now been refused by Cornwall Council with one reason being that the site is not located within a main town, the scheme does not constitute infill development and the site is not allocated in a neighbourhood plan.

The refusal notice states: "Although the proposal offers social and economic benefits through housing delivery including affordable units in this village location, these do not outweigh or justify a departure from the spatial strategy pursued by the Development Plan. The proposal is therefore not considered to constitute sustainable development."

It adds: "In the absence of a mechanism to secure it, the proposal fails to provide affordable housing for which there is an identified need; off-site financial contributions to deliver improvements to mitigate pressures on education, local sports infrastructure provision and Falmouth and Helford Special Area of Conservation."

The third reason for refusal states: "The proposal does not adequately consider the impact of the development on heritage assets and their setting. Insufficient information has been submitted to clearly demonstrate that the proposed development would not lead to undue harm to the historic assets within the surrounding area."