EACH week, hundreds of planning applications come before Cornwall Council’s planning department, seeking to win approval for various plans right across the Duchy.

These plans can comprise of a number of different reasonings– ranging from permission to replace windows or listed building consent ranging up to large house building developments or changing of use of a building, for instance, from an office to a café, or flats.

Within this large and often complex system, there are a number of formats from which planning advice and approval can be sought.

These range from full applications where all the details which comprise a proposed development or work to a building are submitted, to outline applications, where further details are yet to be confirmed, for example, an outline application with reserved matters for appearance may not confirm the final proposed development but rather seek permission in principle.

An example of this is one for an outline permission for 20 dwellings on land with reserved matters for appearance and scale; the reserved matters would require further permission later for their inclusion.

Other types of applications include pre-application advice requests, where would-be developers submit often outline proposals to a local authority to ascertain whether it is likely to gain support or not prior to submitting a planning application.

The vast majority of applications are decided by planning officers employed by a local authority under ‘delegated powers’, meaning they do so on behalf of their employer, however, some applications are ‘called in’ by local councillors to be discussed at an area’s strategic planning committee meeting, meaning the final decision rests with a committee of councillors.

HOPES that a controversial development on land on the outskirts of Bodmin might be refused have been dealt a blow after the Environment Agency removed a previous objection to the proposals.

Wainhomes South West applied to Cornwall Council in 2020 seeking permission to build 540 homes on land off of Halgavor Moor Farm, Halgavor Road, Bodmin, an area of land known locally as ‘Halgavor Moor’.

In the four years since the plans were first submitted, it has been met with vociferous local objections spearheaded by a group of nearby residents, known as ‘Save Halgavor Moor’.

The campaigners say that the land is ancient moorland and with it currently being marshland, development on it would have an adverse effect on flooding and wildlife in the area. They also have further concerns about the scale and impact of the development on the surrounding town and have also objected on the grounds of traffic volume onto the existing Halgavor Road, a mostly single-track carriageway.

In its submissions as a statutory consultee on the proposals, the Environment Agency had previously stated it objected to the proposals on a number of grounds relating to the impact on the environment and the management of water near the St Lawrence’s Stream watercourse.

It required the applicant and its agent for the application to submit further details on how it would mitigate the issues raised by the Environment Agency in its objection in order to reverse it, one of which included proposals for culverting.

In that previous objection, the Environment Agency had said: “We are opposed to the culverting of any watercourse because of the adverse ecological, flood risk and geomorphological impacts of this. Watercourses are important linear features of the landscape and should be maintained as continuous corridors to maximise their benefits to society.

“We consider that any watercourse crossings should be open span bridge structures which have sufficient capacity to pass flood flows, enable access for maintenance and clearing of blockages, as well as incorporating biodiversity elements/improvements.

“If any culverts are considered necessary, the applicant should demonstrate why this is necessary and the only reasonable and practicable alternative. Where it has been robustly demonstrated that the culverting is both necessary and the only reasonably practicable alternative, the length of any culvert should be restricted to the minimum necessary to meet access objectives.

“When designing the culvert, the applicant should take into account of the predicted impacts of climate change (using an allowance for climate change), natural channel geomorphology and any future development planned in the catchment. All mitigation measures should be incorporated within the design and the work should be carried out using best working practice to minimise environmental impacts.”

However, after information was later submitted by the applicant, the Environment Agency said it would remove its objection subject to a number of planning conditions being stipulated if approved.

It said: “Having reviewed the additional information, we are able to remove our objection to this proposal if planning conditions are included within any permission granted in respect of the following: Watercourse Crossings, Finished Floor Levels, Floodplain Protection, Landscape and ecological management plan (LEMP), Undeveloped buffer zone for watercourses, ponds and wetland, Protection of fish species and Contaminated Land.

“Without these conditions we would object to the proposal because it cannot be guaranteed that the development will manage flood risk appropriately and not result in significant harm to the river, fish and downstream designations.”

The Environment Agency then listed a number of suggested conditions which would satisfy the objection as it would mandate the developer to undertake a series of tasks, such as having plans submitted and approved before development and occupation of the buildings.

An application to extend the amount of time a planning permission is valid for from three years to six years has been refused by Cornwall Council.

Mr J Stacey applied to the local authority seeking permission to extend the time permission was valid for his proposed works to convert an agricultural building to a dwellinghouse on land north of Daisy’s Cottage, Fentonadle, St Breward. The application was made under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, from which the stipulation originates.

The applicant told Cornwall Council: “Since the time of the decision the applicant has been looking to secure Building Regulations approval but unfortunately due to circumstances outside of their control final approval has still not yet been given and 12 months of build time has been lost.

“Furthermore, the development is being built out on a self-build basis by the applicant who is looking to fund the development from cash savings as they can be accrued. The applicant is mindful of the significant increase in materials and other construction costs since the COVID-19 pandemic and in turn requires additional time to complete the development.

“The Council will be well aware of the support for self-build development, and we trust that this can be reflected in Officer thinking. We therefore propose that the time limit on completion of the development set out within Condition one be extended from three years to six.”

However, Cornwall Council’s planning department said that the extension of planning permission requested is not a permissible use of the Section 73 legislation and thus the application could not be granted.

Refusing the application, Cornwall Council told the applicant: “By extending the original condition's completion time limit from three to six years, it would effectively be extending the time limit the development could commence, whereby so long as the development was completed by year six, it could commence on year four, which would otherwise not be permitted by the original permission and therefore would extend the time in which the development could be started.

“This is not a permissible use of Section 73 applications and would be contrary to Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and paragraphs 014 and 015 of the Planning Practice Guidance 2024.”

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