A representative of the Penryn Campus has said a proposal for a 125 bed accommodation site at Packsaddle is part of plans ease the pressure of students on private sector housing.

Ken Johnson, director of estates at Falmouth University, said the university was expanding and was planning to build more residences on the campus itself, but was also open to proposals from landowners with suitable sites, such as that at Packsaddle.

He told a meeting of Penryn Town Council's planning committee: "We are looking for private sites to build a substantial number of student units rather than encouraging further growth in the private sector and people splitting bedrooms into separate accommodation."

Architect John Bicknell said the plans were for the new residences to be car free, with only a very limited number of car parking spaces for disabled students and pick up and drop off points for the beginning and end of term.

Councillor Martin Mullins said it looked like "a nice plan" with "plenty of open space" and admitted that the town "would benefit from extra students," but he said he would be concerned if the proposed number of beds at the development started to creep up.

Councillor Dave Garwood asked: "You have drop off points, but what will happen when 100 or 40 or 30 students want to bring a car?"

Alfie Fudge, who owns the site of the proposed development, said restrictions on car use could be written into the tenancy agreements.

Mr Johnson said: "We have to be bold and say there's not going to be spaces, and say 'you cannot bring cars.'"

Mr Bicknell added: "We will provide bike parking: one per bedroom."

Asked about noise pollution, Mr Bicknell said the architects were planning on creating a sustainable building which would include triple glazing, which would be "quite quiet" and having amenity space between the blocks meant less sound would escape.

He also told councillors that the firm "always try to push towards the highest levels of sustainability," and would consider using photovoltaic cells, or planting seeds on the flat roofs.

The chair of the planning committee, Councillor Chris Smith, said: "Obviously you can do all these things. As a council we would be happy if you talked about these in the brief."