THE owners of the Old Telephone Exchange in Penryn have submitted new plans to treble the amount of student accommodation at the site after an application was refused in January.

New designs for the property at 97 Helston Road would see four current rooms housing eight students replaced by a mix of 10 one and two-bed units capable of accommodating 24.

In January Cornwall Council rejected a proposal to create rooms for 21 residents with indoor social space, citing concerns over increased scale, height, footprint, and density at the site, resulting in over-development, loss of privacy and unreasonable disturbance.

In its design statement for the scheme, which has already received pre-application advice, Laurence Associates architects has said: " The revised scheme has been specifically amended to take account of the comments of the planning officer following the refusal of the earlier scheme and to avoid unneighbourly impacts.

"The extension to the front of the building has been reduced in scale to provide a more attractive and appropriately scaled addition within the street, which adjoins the Conservation Area. The extension will be in-keeping with the traditional vernacular, drawing on the neighbouring scale, form and materials.

"Having closely followed the advice of the planning officer, the proposal will now not give rise to any loss of amenity for the neighbouring occupiers. The location and orientation of the proposed building and orientation of windows will not give rise to overlooking."

The proposed development will be over two storeys, as opposed to the three storey plan rejected in January, and will be within the same footprint as that proposed for the previous application.

The plan is open to consultation, with a determination deadline of November 3.