Knocking down a block of secure garages in Helston and replacing them with four houses would cause "bad blood" and be an "unmitigated disaster."

This was the warning given at a meeting of Helston Town Council's planning committee last week, attended by more than 30 people protesting against plans by Coastline Housing.

The housing association wants to demolish a block of lock-up garages and build four houses with parking in its place, as well as provide additional parking to nearby Beacon Parc.

In its application for planning permission, Coastline said that it owns and manages "numerous" garage sites around Cornwall, adding: "Due to the age and condition of some of the garages, Coastline has an ongoing

strategy to either demolish garages and dispose of the plots on the open market, or in the areas of greatest housing need, address that need by developing affordable housing for rent or shared ownership."

This application follows a similar scheme that went ahead in Trelawney Road last year.

However, Damien Willey, a Coastline resident in Trengrouse Way who rents a garage in Oates Road, told the Helston committee: "Lock-up garages such as these do not get built anymore. The loss of such an amenity is a loss of secure storage which will never be replaced.

"People want a secure place to store their cars or possessions and are prepared to pay for that privilege, to the extent that there is a waiting list for these garages. I, for example, use mine to store medical equipment for my disabled daughter, such as her wheelchair, as there isn’t room at home for it."

He said Oates Road was a "small and narrow street" where dustbin lorries and emergency vehicles "regularly" had to mount the kerb or even block the road.

"Further housing will compound traffic flow issues here. I am especially concerned that during the construction process, the area will not be accessible for such vehicles at all, placing the safety and well-being of existing residents at risk," he said.

Mr Willey went on to say that the small residents' car park on the corner with Vyvyan Plac was "regularly abused by people who should not park there" and he had not faith that any new parking provided in place of the garages would be policed in any meaningful way either.

He also said that the additional parking indicated in the application was in places already used for on-street parking, so would not in fact provide any extra and in fact be a reduction, as the spaces were less than the number of vehicles that parked now.

Mr Willey, who has started a petition against the proposal and said he had received a "fantastic response," added: "Finding a space to park will effectively become a lottery. Competition over spaces will cause bad blood between neighbourhoods.

"Someone has already put a sign up in Oates Road claiming it to now be a towing zone, fearing the loss of parking. The loss of the garages would be an unmitigated disaster for this part of Helston."

The planning committee recommended refusal of the application due to members' belief it would result in a loss of amenity for residents by the removal of garages and would exacerbate existing traffic management issues in the area due to loss of parking and increase in congestion. Members also pointed out it was not a site identified for housing in the Helston Town Framework and there were "inaccuracies" in parking numbers shown in the application.

A full decision will be taken by Cornwall Council.

A spokesperson for Coastline Housing said: "Of the 29 garages in Oates Road just six are being used by local residents. The new properties will have their own dedicated parking, and our plans show extra spaces will also be made available in Oates Road with more proposed at Beacon Parc."

He said its garage sites were costly to maintain, adding: "As a not-for-profit housing association our priority is to use our resources to provide much-needed high quality accommodation. Recent numbers from Cornwall HomeChoice show there are currently 190 people in need of one bedroom accommodation in Helston.

"We have worked to secure funding from the Homes and Communities Agency to build this specialist housing for rent for older persons or people with a disability. If the scheme does not go ahead the funding will need to be used on another scheme elsewhere."

He said as with all Coastline Housing sites there would be a traffic management plan in place during construction and the association would be working with "considerate contractors."