Almost 50 garages in Helston are to be demolished to make way for housing after planning permission was granted on appeal - despite claims this would result in "bad blood" and be an "unmitigated disaster."

Not only was Cornwall Council's refusal of Coastline Housing's plans overthrown by planning inspector John Wilde, but he ordered the council to pay costs.

It is over the housing association's applications to demolish 29 garages in Oates Road and 18 garages in Trelawney Road, and in their place build two one-bedroom flats and two one-bedroom bungalows at each site.

After holding site meetings at each location, Cornwall Council's planning committee refused permission for both applications - against officer recommendation.

Coastline appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and has now won, with inspector John Wilde saying: "Whilst I acknowledge that parking is an emotive issue, in this particular case the council have failed to justify their decision adequately in planning terms, and have failed to produce substantial evidence to justify their position.

"This amounts to unreasonable behaviour that has delayed a development which should clearly have been permitted."

Concerned residents had argued that finding a space to park would "effectively become a lottery" without the garages.

Damien Willey, a Coastline resident in Trengrouse Way who rents a garage in Oates Road, said: "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.

"Competition over spaces will cause bad blood between neighbourhoods.

"The loss of the garages would be an unmitigated disaster for this part of Helston."

Mr Willey, who set up a petition against the proposal, added that extra houses would only compound existing traffic flow issues in the narrow road, and that the additional parking indicated in the application was in places already used for on-street parking, so would not provide any extra and in fact be a reduction, as the spaces were less than the number of vehicles that parked now.

However, inspector Mr Wilde said there were "no actual rights that allow such access and parking and the appellant is under no duty to provide free unregulated parking."

He added that the rental terms and conditions showed the garages should only be used for the parking of vehicles, so the loss of storage could be given little weight.

Coastline has promised one parking space will be provided per unit, with a further eight spaces created elsewhere on Oates Road. An additional 16 spaces will be created within the grass verges in neighbouring Beacon Parc. A further six spaces will be created near to Trelawney Road.

A spokesperson for Coastline Housing previously said that of the 29 garages in Oates Road just six were used by local residents.

He added that the garage sites were costly to maintain and warned that if these schemes did not go ahead government funding to build specialist housing for rent for older persons or people with a disability would be lost in Helston.