PROPOSED redevelopment at a former coach depot near Liskeard would be “highly unlikely to receive support” says a planning officer.

The site at Blackwater Farm near the A38 at Dobwalls is subject to fly tipping and “something needs to be done to prevent it becoming unsightly” says Westward Planning agency on behalf of the applicant.

Two separate proposals have been put forward with a request for pre-planning application advice: one for a development of four houses, the other for light industrial units.

But planning officer Georgia Rowe said she felt that neither type of use could be considered appropriate given the site’s location beyond the settlement boundary of Dobwalls and in the open countryside.

Agent Alex Sebbinger of Westward Planning states: “Whilst the site lies in a rural location, it was historically used for commercial purposes, it being a depot for Webbers Coaches during the 1980s and 1990s.

“My client purchased the site in 2010 where it was used for overflow parking and storage of equipment to the local vehicle maintenance and repair workshop business. My client no longer owns this business, and since the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 the land has had little use. It is now the subject to fly tipping. There is a need to do something with the site in order to ensure it does not become unsightly and harmful to the character of the surrounding area. This site is clearly brownfield.”

The planning officer states that the proposal as it stands would not fulfil any of the special circumstances set out in either Cornish or national planning policy for building homes in the open countryside. The Cornwall Plan sets out its criteria as: replacement dwellings; reuse of redundant buildings; temporary accommodation for workers; or full-time accommodation for agricultural worker where there is a demonstrated need.

However the agent argues that national planning policy states that housing decisions should be “responsive to local circumstances”.

Regarding the industrial units, no end users had been identified “and it has not been demonstrated that there is any overriding locational and business need for the units to be situated here” the officer said.