The developers behind plans for a 264-bed student accommodation block on Penryn's Kernick Industrial Estate have said the public is broadly behind the scheme.

Irregular Cornwall claims 95 per cent per cent of people who visited a prototype student bedroom in a former shipping container said they support the development being built on the former Home Shed site in Penryn.

The company has submitted an application to house 264 students on a six-acre site including the former home store and land behind it, with proposals for a health centre and surgery in the former Home Shed building itself.

As part of an extensive public consultation exercise conducted by the developer, a fully fitted out container was displayed on the The Moor in Falmouth and at Home Shed in Penryn during the last week of August.

Almost 1,000 people visited the show home, with Irregular claiming the overwhelming majority of the 230 who commented were supportive of all elements of the scheme.

Mum of two, Amanda Shepherd, from Falmouth, said: “It’s a fantastic idea to have student accommodation made from sustainable materials in Penryn.

“I support this for so many reasons but especially to relieve the stress on the local housing and also give the students somewhere to live where they feel like they’ve got their own community.”

Irregular Cornwall has said 92 per cent of those questioned felt that the affordable rents - at £99 per week they said it is roughly 20 per cent lower than the average HMO - would attract students currently living in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) in Penryn and Falmouth.

The company reported that 90 per cent of respondents said they felt the scheme was of 'architectural interest' and 90 per cent of people thought the location was appropriate in terms of local amenities.

Of the 230 comments, the developer claimed only four were concerned about the loss of industrial land, and only seven were concerned about parking.

Irregular said many respondents thought the Irregular development would meet the needs of the local community’s development plan, whilst providing a boost to the local economy and helping to ease the impact of extra students moving into Falmouth and Penryn.

The masterplan for the site envisages a place where people can study, work, rest and play with private residential properties planned alongside a wide variety of commercial units. There is also provision for 300 or more parking spaces, with Irregular yet to clarify how many of those will be for student use. Phase one of the scheme will have 66 spaces with 13 for students across 264 rooms, and the possibility of using 50 spaces from the later stage of development, if it is approved.

Independent analysts Peter Brett Associates predict the master plan area would support an additional 332 jobs on the site, adding around £25m to the local economy.