A SENIOR Cornwall councillor has criticised the decision of the Planning Inspectorate to overturn and grant permission on a controversial housing application that removed what he felt was the last viable piece of land that could have been used for job creation.

Mebyon Kernow’s Andrew Long, who represents Callington and sits on East and Strategic Planning, was responding to the approval of reserved matters for a 46-house development on land off Florence Road on the eastern edge of the town.

“It is incredibly frustrating that, despite the fact that the land was earmarked for expansion of the Moss Side Industrial Estate, protected by the original Caradon Local Plan, further protected by the New Site Allocations Document for industrial use, recommended for refusal by the Town Council, and refused by Cornwall Council’s Planning Committee, a Whitehall-based Inspectorate overturned the application and granted approval.” Said Cllr Long. “Even when the emerging Neighbourhood Plan had identified more than enough land to meet the requirements for housing in our community, and the fact that the application would lead to the potential that Cornwall would fail in its requirement for job creation under the very same Cornwall Local Plan that the Inspector quoted in his judgement, he granted this permission.

“It is clear that only with a Cornwall Planning Policy Framework created and approved here in Cornwall, without interference from Whitehall can we properly provide truly affordable housing for the local population,” he added.

The reserved matters application was approved following the Inspector’s intervention on the outline application and was amended following the Town Council and Cllr Long raising concerns over certain aspects of the layout of the site.