Developers have won their appeal for permission to build 340 homes on land at Trenethick to the north east of Helston.

The Planning Inspectorate in Bristol overruled Cornwall Council's objections to developer Jackamax's proposal for the HX1 development after the council failed last year to meet the deadline for a decision on the matter.

The council's failure to meet the deadline meant the decision was automatically passed to the inspectorate, and planning inspector John Gray dismissed the council's belated reasons for why it would have refused permission, based on negative impact on the town's appearance and character and the unsustainability of having a development far from the centre of the town without adequate transport links.

He said the proposed development "would bring economic benefits" in terms of housing, employment, and expenditure from residents, and "would also have social benefits."

He added: "The environmental dimension of sustainability is more finely balanced; clearly, there would be the loss of what is presently open land – but the proposal would not appear as an incongruous appendage to Helston and there is no reason why it should not be successfully designed and landscaped."

The inspector also dealt a blow to efforts to give Helston more of a say in planning matters, as he dismissed the Helston Town Framework Urban Extension Assessment and the emerging Cornwall Council Local Plan, saying neither "carries significant weight as a policy document." However, he conceded that "the former

incorporates an analysis of the potential opportunities for residential development around Helston" and "the progress of the latter gives an indication of the likely housing requirements for the town."

In another blow for Cornwall Council, the inspector also awarded costs to Jackamax, after finding the council had behaved unreasonably in fighting the appeal in the face of Helston's housing need and on the pretext of sustainable development "when the adverse impacts of development do not clearly and demonstrably

outweigh the benefits."

Although Jackamax has now been granted outline planning permission, the company still has to submit a full planning application if it wishes to move ahead with the development, which would also include business units and a medical practice, and carry a condition of 40 per cent affordable housing.