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.

CORNWALL Council’s planning department has said it has concerns over proposals submitted for the conversion of a former solicitor’s office into a 24 bed house of multiple occupation (HMO).

A pre-application advice enquiry, where the applicant submits proposals for the council planner’s opinion prior to submitting a full planning application was made concerning the former Blight, Broad and Skinnard’s solicitor office in Callington.

The application concerns the address of 1 and 2 George Place, Haye Road, Callington.

The solicitor firm had occupied the building until it was shut down by industry regulators the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in 2019 amid suspected dishonesty, with director Nicholas Peter William Skinnard struck off from the register of solicitors as a result of the inquiry. The building has been empty since the sanction, which came as a result of allegations that Mr Skinnard borrowed money from the funds of the estates of deceased clients that he had been administering without permission from their beneficiaries.

Since its closure, the building has been the subject of multiple planning pre-applications and applications for different uses, none of which have progressed to the issuance of permission.

In 2022, two pre-application requests had been submitted to Cornwall Council. The first concerned a proposal for 28 dwellings, which would have included the redevelopment of the existing building.

The second involved a residential development of land and buildings with up to 21 units, including the redevelopment of the main building.

At the time of submission of the plans for the 28 units, the applicant was told by the planning department: “This proposal for a number of residential units in this sustainable town centre location is likely to be supported in principle from a spatial policy perspective and the scheme appears to be well considered from a heritage design and pedestrian mobility point of view.

“However, I am concerned that the proposal may be an overdevelopment of the site in this context, particularly in terms of neighbour impacts and a lack of any parking whatsoever.

“At this stage, we would suggest further design work should take place to consider a reduced scheme which would allow for these matters to be satisfactorily addressed. Given the number of constraints impacting this site, we would welcome the submission of a further pre-application enquiry before a full detailed application.”

The proposal for 21 units was met more favourably, with the planning department stating: “The scheme has been well progressed, taking into account Officer comments from the previous pre-application. The proposal still represents a significant proposal within the heart of Callington, where there are number of key constraints which the proposal has to take account of, notably impacts on the Conservation Area and heritage assets, impacts on neighbours and highway/parking matters.

“Officers have not yet had the chance to consider full plans, however the layout and other details provided with this pre-application appear to be well rounded in respect of the key issues and therefore progression towards a full application now seems the next logical step.

“Local views from the Town Council will be important for this application, as well as positive responses from other consultees. Any future application should be a full detailed scheme - we would not encourage the submission of an outline application.”

A full planning application seeking to convert the main building into six two-bedroomed flats and two two-bedroomed maisonettes was submitted in 2023 and is still the subject of an active planning application. Only two of the dwellings would be open-market sale dwellings if approved.

However, there have been concerns about that proposal issued by the highways officer from Cornwall Council, who stated: “The site plan indicates parking will be provided to the rear of the site, the route along the side of the building is constrained and I consider unlikely that vehicles would be able to pass through to the rear.

“The parking to the rear is also constrained and it is considered that vehicles would be unable to turn and exit in the forward gear. I recommend that tracking provided to influence the layout of the parking and turning, I also recommend topographical data is utilised for the access route along the side of the building.”. The comments were issued in September 2024, and no submitted plans appear to have been completed with no further document submissions on the planning application since June 2024.

In the latest application, concerning the proposal for the 24-bedroom house of multiple occupation, the council again said it had concerns about the scale of the plans.

The applicant had said that its latest proposal would: “aim to renovate and convert the existing property into a 24-bedroom HMO, accommodating 24 occupants. The development would be sensitive to the surrounding context, preserving the building’s appearance within the street scene.

Pictures submitted with the planning statement indicate that the interior is presently of a poor condition, with multiple walls stripped out and refurbishment work having appeared to have commenced previously but not progressed.

The latest plans would see the ground floor become a kitchen, dining and living area, with a shared shower room, shared toilet, eight bedrooms, eight en-suites, one storage unit and one utility room.

The first floor would incorporate a communal area, ten bedrooms and ten en-suites, while the second floor would consist of a communal area, six bedrooms and six en-suites. There would also appear to be four parking spaces for the site.

In response, Cornwall Council told the applicant: “Officers have concerns with the proposal for a 24 bedroom HMO. The scale of development is likely to result in amenity concerns, both externally in the local area, and internally for residents of the HMO. I would suggest the site would be better set up for conversion into flats given the town centre location. Any future scheme would still need to ensure appropriate amenity provision for occupants, such as providing external communal areas, bin and bike storage etc.”

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