IN a surprising move, planning permission for housing in St Dominick has been reversed with a planning application revisited and refused.

The unanimous decision at the Cornwall Council east area planning committee meeting on Monday, February 17 is in stark contrast to the October meeting where the application for 14 dwellings was approved by a casting vote from the chair.

Councillors at the February meeting revisited the application after errors were discovered involving updated documentation not being registered until three days after the committee member’s decision.

The irregularity in respect to a site map, showed an alteration to a plot on the site changing it to an open market property changing the material of the application.

There was much discussion during the meeting of the impact of the change of housing type on the plot but ultimately, changes enhancing the protection of national landscape areas (formerly AONB), like the Tamar Valley became the sole focus of the refusal of the application.

Answering a question, Cornwall Council planning officer, Davina Pritchard, stated: “We have a strengthened duty in terms of the National Landscape… our view is that there is some harm to the national landscape with this development but we don’t think the harm is so significant when weighed against the other benefits.”

Member for the division Callington and St Dominick, Cllr Andrew Long, disagreed.

Summing up he said: “This is the fourth of fifth iteration of this application; an application that has been full of inaccuracies, and concerns that have been raised by members of the public, by the parish council, by objectors; the application has been invalidated, not once but twice… it has a chequered history to say the least!”

He said when it came for approval in 2018 there were seven open market and seven affordable homes.

“Now we’re down to four affordable homes. This has meant that the impact on the national landscape are just as severe but the benefits are less,” he added. “We have an opportunity now to send this back, refuse the application. We have a duty of care to our national landscape.”

Members voted unanimously to refuse the application.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Long added: “I’m very pleased. Common sense has prevailed. It’s a saga that has lasted eight years, but has now come to an end. It’s the principle of the thing really, where local democracy has got to be seen to be working.

“Many councillors felt the balance had now tipped against the application because of the reduction in affordable houses on the site, and this was no longer an acceptable harm to the National Landscapes.”

Cornwall Councillor for Liskeard Central and chair of the East Area Planning Committee, Nick Craker, said: “Planning applications that get called into committee to be determined are often finely balanced. When the facts change it can tip the balance and mean a different outcome is reached. That’s what happened here.

“The application was assessed on its merits and a different decision was made by the committee.”