Plans to build accommodation out of shipping containers for up to 264 students on land at the former site of Homeshed in Penryn have been submitted to Cornwall Council.

Developers Irregular Cornwall Ltd have applied for planning permission for a change of use for the former retail unit to provide non-residential, shop and restaurant space, along with a proposal to build a mixture of two and four-storey accommodation units on land behind the current building.

The application, includes provision for a medical centre including a doctors' surgery and a pharmacy, 1,118sqm of retail space, and student facilities such as a cafe/bar and gym. It is accompanied by a letter from the Penryn Surgery affirming that the partners would be interested in a "pre-lease discussion" with developers as they look to relocate to the upper end of the town.

It also includes 66 parking spaces - 52 for businesses and the surgery and 14 for students - along with 50 bicycle spaces, although the developers said they want to avoid "over densification of new parking."

The accommodation will be built from repurposed shipping containers built by Truro-based ISO Spaces, creating en-suite rooms with shared kitchens and lounge areas.

The developers described the land assigned for the accommodation as taken up by "smaller buildings that are currently recently occupied on a short lease to a retail business selling second hand items, with a lease termination planned on or before March 2018."

The planning application also lists potential expansion sites as part of a "masterplan" which would see industrial units on Jennings Road which were recently saved from demolition being ejected and replaced with more space for retail or accommodation.

The masterplan also includes a section of land currently owned by Walker Developments, and together the developments considered by Irregular Cornwall would cover the majority of the current industrial estate to the south of Kernick Road.

The design statement claims: "The site is currently an area of transition and has a very low level of economic activity. It is in part cleared, derelict, second hand shop, housing a businesses in liquidation, units of low rental income and in general experiencing very slim levels of low paid employment."

It adds that there is currently a need in the Falmouth and Penryn area for purpose-built student accommodation "in the form of cluster flats and studio developments in accessible locations with on-site managed staffing," which it said would "relieve the pressure on family-sized dwellings in popular locations" and reduce the need for students to use cars.

The developers also said that the masterplan "gives the opportunity to... safeguard the employment space on the northern side of Kernick Road by concentrating the new student complex in this obvious area of transition."

The application has currently attracted three objections online, including Adele Wiles, who said: "Losing a valuable industrial area would be a big downfall for Penryn."

Paul Kitchener added: "Drainage cannot cope with current usage. This is an industrial area and large lorries are constantly arriving and loading and unloading goods. Students will also park vehicles in current business spaces."

It can be found on Cornwall Council's planning website using reference PA17/05587.