This week is the last chance for the public to have their say on plans to build up to 150 homes on land at College Valley in Penryn.

Last July Walker Developments submitted a planning application to build a new estate on a swathe of land to the west of Hill Head that sits between the A39 to the south and College Hill and the Maritime Line to the north.

The current plans do not include land in the lower valley next towards the Glasney stream, also owned by Walker, although locals have expressed concern that this could be included in a later application - a view which was shared by the previous town council.

In a 2015 pre-planning presentation developers outlined proposals for around 200 homes across the entire site, with 40 per cent affordable, which was followed last year by a plan for 240 homes with 35 per cent affordable.

The current application was scaled back to 6.5 hectares, and in a design statement the company wrote that the rest of the land "has been the subject of pre-application discussions but is no longer part of this planning application following comments from local stakeholder groups."

Access to the new estate will be via a road onto Hill Head, wih pedestrian and cycle routes directly into the centre of Penryn

Now the deadline for public consultation is approaching, with comments accepted up until Friday on Cornwall Council's planning page, which has already received 37 submissions - all objections.

These include from Nick Ratcliffe, who pointed out that the amount of traffic generated along the narrow road at Hill Head would be "wholly unsustainable," and would impact the junction of Eastwood Road, which "already has restricted views and poor sight lines of oncoming traffic."
He added that the plans are an "accident waiting to happen."

He also criticised the loss of green space the development would entail, in an "area of natural beauty with a large variety of established wildlife," and wrote that it would destroy an "important buffer between the bypass and Penryn."

And he added that the work would "increase the risk of flooding in the town," due to increased run off on a steep hillside above Penryn.

Another commenter, Thomas Gruitt, said: "This will destroy a beautiful green area full of wildlife and flora which provide a lovely outlook from the town. Extra housing here will create huge pressure on local services such as the doctors surgery and other local amenities."

To comment on the application, go to the Cornwall Council's planning register and search for PA16/06414.