PLANS to build a new house in Upton Cross have been approved, despite concerns from the local parish council and Cornwall’s Mining World Heritage Site office.

Alex Piper has been granted permission for a two-bedroom bungalow with parking in the curtilage of the property, Ferndale, which is within the cluster of eight houses known as Dunsley and accessed by a private road.

Linkinhorne Parish Council said it had objected to the application as the proposed building is within both the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the World Heritage Site, and there had been “no explanation with the documentation to support building at this location”.

The Council said that the applicant should indicate how the new housing would fit Cornwall Council’s policy for the provision of affordable housing in perpetuity for local people.

Moreover, the Council requested that the access to the property be investigated, stating that “the lane is privately owned and permission from the land owners has not been sought”.

While no objection to the proposal had come from the AONB unit, the Mining World Heritage Site had concerns. It said that the heritage statement provided with the application was not detailed enough, and that the land in question could well be one of the former smallholdings once in use by miners living in Upton Cross. As such, the field would be categorised as one of the “seven key attributes expressing the outstanding universal value of the world heritage site” and would need to be protected, notwithstanding the development which has taken place nearby in more modern times. The World Heritage Site Office recommended that in the absence of research to determine the former use of the site, a precautionary approach be taken.

But planning officer George Shirley argued that the harm arising from the development would be “less than substantial” and that Dunsley would still be viewed as a small mine workers hamlet.

“It is considered the limited public benefits of the scheme through the provision of a dwelling and minor economic benefits would outweigh the limited amount of harm, in accordance with the Cornwall Local Plan.”

Turning to some of the objections raised by the parish council, Mr Shirley said that rights of access were a civil matter and would not be a material planning consideration. There was no policy requirement, he said, for the new house to be an affordable dwelling.

In the end, Linkinhorne Parish Council agreed to disagree with the planning officer’s recommendation, meaning that a delegated approval could be granted by the officer.