Planners have recommended that Cornwall Council approve a scheme for 264 student homes in recycled shipping containers which is opposed by Mabe and Penryn councils but backed by local doctors.

The council's central sub-area planning committee is due to make a decision on Monday over Irregular Cornwall's plans to build the new accommodation, along with a new doctors' surgery, climbing wall and retail space, on the site of the former Home Shed store at Annear Road in Penryn.

Planning officer Phil Mason said in a report for the committee that although the application sit is on land that is safeguarded for employment use and not allocated for student accommodation, the loss "is considered to be a modest one because of the small size of the site in relation to the wider industrial estate."

He added: "The conflict with the employment use is not a compelling one when weighed against the benefits the scheme would bring."

The document includes notes from a highways report which found that 14 student parking spots and 144 bicycle spaces would be "acceptable" for the development, although it did also suggest the addition of parking restrictions on Annear Road and a new pathway from the site to Kernick Road.

The document also states that a management plan and related tenancy agreement "would advise tenants not to bring vehicles with them," while noting that potential noise and anti-social behaviour is "largely a management issue for the owners of the proposed student

accommodation or... the police."

Mr Mason said part of the reason for recommending approval of the plan was the need for student accommodation in the short term, coupled with the current "unfortunate" position regarding the delivery of 1049 new bedrooms on the Penryn Campus and a "dearth of schemes."

He added that while plans to build accommodation for up to 2,000 students in a new village at Treluswell roundabout would, if permitted, contribute significantly to what was required, "a decision on that application has yet to be made and it is reasonable to assume that scheme would have longer lead in times," whereas the modular style accommodation at Kernick Road "can be delivered in relatively timely fashion."

The scheme has raised objections from Penryn Town Council, which pointed out that the land is not identified for student accommodation in the local planning documents, and Mabe Parish Council, which said it would remove much needed industrial capacity in the local area and increase traffic.

It has also drawn criticism from some other businesses at Kernick, who are worried about parking and traffic issues, as well as the possibility that having residential premises on nearby could lead to restrictions on noisy or other work usually carried out on industrial estates. Others are concerned at a 'masterplan' revealed by the company, which would see other businesses removed from the estate, which has not been addressed in the current officer's report.

However the Penryn Surgery, which has been offered space for a new premises in the former Home Shed building, has been supportive, and local climbing gym Granite Planet has also backed the project, along with many of its members. The climbing wall is currently threatened with closure as the company which owns its building wishes to replace it with student accommodation, and Irregular Cornwall has promised to provide it with a new home.

The application will be discussed by the planning committee in a public meeting on October 30 at 10am, in the Council Chamber of Cornwall Council at Penwinnick Road, St Austell.