A key step in the creation of a new village bringing thousands of homes to the outskirts of Truro has now been taken after an official planning application was submitted for the Langarth Garden Village.

The hybrid planning application asks for full permission for the construction of the Northern Access Road and junctions to the development from the A390.

It also then has an application for outline permission for the major part of the development, including 3,550 homes, 200 extra care homes and 50 units of student/health worker accommodation.

In addition permission is sought for five local centres that will have shopping, offices, restaurants and cafes, health and community facilities, a local care health centre, a 'blue light centre' for emergency services, two primary schools, business and commercial floorspace and a brewery/public house.

The application also looks for outline permission for areas of open space, a community farm/allotments, renewable energy centre, park and ride extension, cycle lanes and other highway works including crossings of the A390 and quiet lanes.

Details from the masterplan have already been published, but this is the first time that an official application has been made to build it all.

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A total of 352 documents have been included with the application, which has been  validated by Cornwall Council. No date has been set for when it will be considered and decided.

One of the major documents with the application is a nine-part design and access statement, which sets out various aspects of the development including how it will be laid out and the proposed design guide which will be used.

Cornwall Council has taken the lead on the development of Langarth Garden Village, which covers a number of different sites that had previously been granted planning permission for different developments.

Falmouth Packet: CGI of how the Langarth Garden Village could look when completeCGI of how the Langarth Garden Village could look when complete

The design and access statement explains: “The driver for the council’s involvement is to ensure a high quality scheme, with an ambition to provide a range of housing types to meet the needs of local people."

It said that by leading the development, the council could make sure key elements such as schools, health and play facilities are provided at the start of the scheme, rather than at the end when all the houses have been built, and that the best travel links for the future are created.

Cornwall Council decided to intervene in 2019 when it also agreed to spend £159million to support the development of a masterplan and infrastructure for the site.

The council has already acquired 130 acres of the land on the site from Inox, but the design and access statement explains that there are 57 land titles across the development site and 38 individual land owner contacts.

The statement explains that the council is in the process of negotiating acquisition of the other land needed for the development.

Falmouth Packet: CGI of how the Langarth Garden Village could look when completeCGI of how the Langarth Garden Village could look when complete

It also adds: “As well as land acquisition, there are also private developers and landowners who would like to develop their own land. Where this is the case, Cornwall Council are discussing such proposals to align the proposals with the vision set within the masterplan.”

The planned Langarth Garden Village, which would have a population of around 8,000 people (slightly lower than the previously announced 'up to 10,000'), is compared in the documents with Wadebridge (population 7,900), Hayle (population 8,900) and Launceston (population 9,200).

Under the plans the development would be split into five phases: the first running from 2021 to 2024, with the last phase from 2034 to 2038.

Outlining the “benefits for customers/residents” the design and access statement says: “Langarth will certainly not follow a bland 'one size fits all' approach. We want to build on Cornish heritage and promote the use of locally sourced building materials and local tradespeople to create a variety of different housing sizes and styles.

"The residents of the existing Threemilestone Village and other adjoining communities along the A390 will benefit from investment in improved facilities as described elsewhere in the report."

And it states: “The masterplan public transport services provide increased bus services, with bus stops at least every 400 metres along the length of the NAR, together with improvements to the existing A390 and an extra 600 spaces at the park and ride.

“Better cycle, bus and walking connections provide a realistic and practical alternative to car use for accessing the city centre and other services with an intent to make a significant change in modal shift from use of the car to other more sustainable forms of transport as part of the overall objectives.

“Creating a new community also means providing jobs for the people who live there."

The application is available to view on the Cornwall Council planning portal where people can also comment on the plans. The application number is PA20/09631.