Cornwall St Mellion Estate retirement village plans up for refusal

Crown Golf has submitted an outline planning application to Cornwall Council for a new development at St Mellion Estate in south east Cornwall.

The plans are due to go before the the council’s east sub-area planning committee on March 1 and planning officers have recommended that they should be refused.

Under the plans the applicants want to build an assisted living/extra care village restricted to over 65s which would include 30 independent living homes, 68 independent living apartments and a 64-bed nursing home.

The nursing home building would also include an office, reception, one doctor GP surgery, pharmacy and lounge areas.

In addition the application is for a holiday lodge reception including an office, farm shop, post office, cafe, microbrewery, artisan bakery and launderette.

The outline plans also include a kitchen market garden, glamping field for 12 glamping pods and a new golf driving range shelter.

Crown Golf is also looking to have a sports building with swimming pool, climbing wall, badminton court, creche and zipwire along with ten holiday lodges, a St Mellion Foundation Building and St Mellion open sided community open air learning hub.

What the site could look like

Local Cornwall councillor Jim Flashman supported the proposals, saying that it would “help the existing host facility to remain viable in the face of the long-term reduced demand for golf and also it would provide age appropriate housing with care for residents”.

However planning officers recommended it for refusal on several grounds, including sustainability, saying it would “result in a significant quantum of residential development, divorced from population centres” and in a location dependent on cars.

Officers also said the development would harm the nearby Grade I St Mellanus Church and the Grade II listed Horsepool Farmhouse.

In addition they said that it would have an impact on infrastructure particularly with regard to affordable housing and healthcare facilities.

Planning officers also said that the plans would have harmful impact on the Tamar Estuaries and Plymouth Sound habitat sites.

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Mellion Parish Council has supported the application saying it was an improvement on a previous permission for holiday lodges and said there was a “clear need” for additional housing for the elderly.

NHS Kernow said in their submission that they were concerned about the reference to a new GP surgery being built. As the organisation which commissions GP services, it said it was not aware of the proposal and said a submission would have to be made to NHS Kernow for consideration.

Cornwall Council’s affordable housing team is unable to support the plans because the lack of any affordable housing or off-site provision.

They stated that with 98 homes planned in the development the applicants would have to provide just over £4.5million towards affordable housing to be built off site.