Plans for two drive-through restaurants and a 63 bed budget hotel to be partly built on a Cornish world heritage site at Pool have been approved by Cornwall Councillors.

The council's strategic planning committee gave the green light to drive through KFC and Costa restaurants, a three storey Travelodge and a Marston’s family pub and restaurant on land at Trevenson Gateway.

The development will mostly be next to the Cornish mining World Heritage Site (WHS), although a small corner of it will be within the site's boundary and will include the Trevenson and Cherry Garden Shafts.

Planning case officer Chantal McLennan said the proposal would "make an efficient use of a key brownfield land which has been vacant and derelict for many years," and lead to more investment and which could create "over 100 full time jobs."

However she also noted "design and heritage based objections," with the Cornwall Design Review Panel (CDRP) and the WHS team expressing concerns over the heritage value of the site and the design of the hotel, which was deemed to be generic rather than in keeping with its setting.

The applicants had responded that the layout and appearance was "dictated by the retailer’s commercial needs to have buildings that are publicly visible with a clear brand image."

She concluded that the "public and economic benefits" of regenerating the site outweighed any harm.

The development had also been backed by Carn Brea parish Council, which had said it would bring the long derelict land back into use.

The committee voted 12 to eight in favour of the new development, with an added condition that developers use some of the land to create additional parking after concerns were raised about a lack of car spaces for residents.