A political row has blown up in West Cornwall with claims that a planning application for affordable homes was turned down because it is connected with a former MP.

Plans for 29 affordable homes in Newlyn were refused planning permission at a meeting on Monday.

Plans for the new homes, which would have been a mix of rent and shared ownership, had been recommended for approval by Cornwall Council planning officers. However the west planning committee voted to refuse planning permission.

The reasons for refusal were concerns about the impact on the local roads which had been highlighted by Cornwall Council’s highways officer. However, there are now claims that Conservative councillors worked to get the plans rejected as they are connected to former Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George.

Mr George, who is now Cornwall councillor for Ludgvan, Madron, Gulval and Heamoor, is also chief executive of Cornwall Community Land Trust which had submitted the plans for the 100 per cent affordable housing project in Newlyn.

Marc Hadley, a former Liberal Democrat candidate for Penzance Town Council, took to Facebook to accuse Conservative councillors of playing “political games at the expense of…local families”.

He claimed: “PZ Tory deputy mayor, Will Elliott, was overheard by a town councillor lobbying colleagues to seek a “strike down”, saying that Andrew George who is the CEO of CCLT “mustn’t get a win here if we want to get Derek Thomas re-elected”.

“So here are the local Conservatives playing political games while MP Derek Thomas professes to be sincerely concerned about the plight of local people amid the housing crisis. Will Elliot is a town councillor but also works full-time as part of Derek Thomas’ constituency office team.”

Responding to the claims Mr Elliott said: “I am quite shocked. I made my position quite clear at the meeting, my only concerns were about the highways matter and biodiversity – that was the only sticking point for me.

“I would never bring party politics or my job into my role as a town councillor and I try and keep party politics out of the town council. I am fully in support of affordable homes as long as it fits with local infrastructure.”

Mr Elliott said that with almost 100 objections from local residents he was not alone in having concerns about the highways element of the scheme. He said that he was seeking legal advice regarding the comments made by Mr Hadley.

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Cllr George has said that he strives to separate his role as a councillor from his position with the community land trust. He has also indicated that the land trust is planning to appeal the decision to refuse planning permission.