CONDITIONALl approval has been granted for the creation of new travellers' pitches on land at Pensilva.

Jim Crocker, of St Ive Road, Pensilva, applied to Cornwall Council for permission for the change of use of land at St Ive Road.

Mr Crocker's planning application included the siting of six residential mobile homes and six touring caravans for nomadic use only to provide for Romany gypsy families, along with the construction of six utility dayrooms, the construction of an associated access road and turning areas and the construction of a new vehicular/pedestrian access to the site.

On Monday, the council's east sub-area planning committee voted to support a recommendation of approval by planning officers in spite of objections from local residents and St Ive Parish Council, which had expressed concerns about potential traffic problems and the lack of need for the facility.

The objectors also pointed out that there were two existing travellers' sites locally, one in St Ive Road occupied by the applicant and another at nearby Tokenbury.

Parish councillors told the committee: 'It is not felt that a potential over-concentration of sites in this locality will enhance the policy of integration and co-existence set out in Government guidelines.'

Approval was granted subject to a number of conditions including a ban on commercial activities and storage of materials on the site and the submission of drainage and landscaping schemes for further approval by the council.

Several new sites for travellers are proposed across the county. A plan for a site at the Barbican in Looe was recently given the go-ahead.