Workers are already on site after an estate of 55 homes at Round Ring in Penryn was granted planning permission by Cornwall Council on Friday.

Pearce Fine Homes has been given the green light to develop land at Trenance, after wrangles over highways and affordable housing meant the council ran more than four months past its determination deadline.

But on Friday planning officer Mark Ball authorised the development, which had drawn objections from residents and the town council but was supported by Ocean Housing, which is intended to receive the 19 affordable homes on the site.

The development had attracted online objections, with 28 out of 30 public comments on Cornwall Council's planning website opposed to the build.

The main objections were that the development would bring extra traffic to the area and would increase water run off and strain on the sewerage system.

However Ben Pearce of Pearce Fine Homes told the Packet that concerns about water management would be properly managed by the developers, while South West Water had been consulted and "there's no problem with sewage."

He added that expected traffic levels were "under the amount of vehicles that those roads can take" according to a management plan produced ahead of earlier development in the area.

Conditional permission has now been granted to build the the homes, including 19 affordable units, along with access roads and other works, and the development will stretch across two fields behind Round Ring.

The work is subject to 14 planning conditions, including archaeological reporting requirements, plans to retain existing hedgerows and trees on the site boundaries, except for access and internal roads, with fencing to protect greenery during building work.

And the developers will be required to make a financial contribution towards highways infrastructure improvements.

Objectors had also questioned why the development is to proceed when the site is not part of the emerging Allocations Development Plan Document, part of the Cornwall Local Plan which was approved by the council last year.

However a Cornwall Council spokesperson said: "The emerging Site Allocations Development Plan Document cannot attract full weight in the decision making process until and unless it has been through an Independent Examination and adopted by Cornwall Council. Therefore at the present time planning applications must be assessed against the policies in the adopted Cornwall Local Plan Strategic Policies 2010 – 2030."