A MEETING is to be held to gather people’s views on a proposed new housing development in Looe.

The scheme at Salter Close, St Martins, would see up to 43 new homes built on land between existing houses on the Barratt Homes estate and the B3253.

The plot, owned by the Truro Diocese of the Church of England, has been allocated as a potential site for new housing in the Looe Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), although the local plan states that around 25 houses would be expected.

Local people who have already commented on the plans have raised concerns, chiefly about the ability of local roads, sewerage and services such as doctors and dentists to cope with the extra demand.

With the site located on the hilltop and close to hundreds of other relatively new houses, the issue of water run off is also at the forefront of people’s minds.

In regard to this location, the Looe Neighbourhood Plan requires that any new development “must demonstrate that it will not be likely to make land elsewhere unstable, and must include appropriate drainage arrangements”.

The local plan also states that any new building project “must not add to difficulties with water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment and runoff water and the storage and safe containment of wastewater”.

In their report to Cornwall Council, the applicants say that they are conscious that “it is understood excess surface water flowing down St Martins Road contributed to a landslip in 2013”.

They say that ground investigations were carried out by TerraFirma in November 2023 to assess the slope stability and the risk of groundwater re-emergence.

The application states: “The surface water drainage strategy has been designed to reduce overland flow onto St Martin’s Road…..an infiltration based strategy has been prepared, with the discharge of surface water to ground. TerraFirma have also concluded that the risk of reemergence of infiltrated rainfall onto St Martin’s Lane is very low.

“Foul water from the proposed development will be discharged to the existing public foul sewer network subject to approval from South West Water.”

A public planning meeting will be held at 6pm on February 13 at the Millpool Centre, Looe, to discuss the application.

The documents can be viewed and members of the public can leave their comments by visiting Cornwall’s online planning register and using the reference PA23/10211.