The next step towards a new 300 home development on green fields between Falmouth and Penryn has been taken by the body responsible for managing church lands in the UK.

The Church Commissioners of England (CCE) has submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) scoping request for its land which sits to the west of Vospers garage at Ponsharden, stretching as far as the Hillhead Roundabout.

Last year Cornwall Council told Lichfield, the agents for the CCE, that the scale of the 13 hectare site meant it would require an EIA. The company has now provided a document setting out the scope of its environmental survey, which will cover "significant" effects including: landscape and visual impact, transportation, ecology, water environment, ground conditions, noise, socio-economics and heritage.

The site has been included, under the name of Falmouth North, in the council's emerging Allocations DPD - the document setting out preferred development sites across Cornwall up to 2030 - as a separate development to the neighbouring Vospers land.

The site is listed as a residential development site for approximately 300 dwellings, including at least 25 per cent as accessible homes, with specialised housing such as extra care. Vehicular access should be off Hillhead roundabout with a vehicular link over the railway line, and a pedestrian link connecting to Falmouth Road.

The scoping request states: "CCE considers the Falmouth North site to have significant potential to meet the housing need in the Penryn and Falmouth area, in a location adjacent to the existing urban area of Falmouth.

"The outline planning application at Falmouth North will play a significant role in meeting the

Local Plan priorities for the Penryn and Falmouth area, and help strengthen its role as a viable

and sustainable settlement."

The company has said that no buildings will be more than three storeys in height, with 88 detached units, 116 semi detached units, 46 terraced units and 48 flats, and it expects the western half of the development to take four years to build, with another three to four years for the eastern half.

Full details of the application can be viewed at Cornwall Council's planning website under reference number PA17/02510.

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