An application to build 170 new homes on the north-eastern outskirts of Bodmin on land adjacent to Callywith College has gone before planners.

The plans, from Bodmin-based developer bunnyhomes, are for a site allocated for redevelopment by Cornwall Council and bordered to the south by residential development, to the north by the recently-built college, to the west by residential properties and allotments along Castle Street and Old Callywith Road, and to the east by the retail park along Launceston Road.

The homes proposed are predominantly two storeys in height and will provide a range of two, three and four-bedroom houses as well as one and two-bedroom apartments, and a three-storey apartment block is proposed along the northern edge of the large central green open space which is integral to the development. The design of the homes is intended to reflect the architectural styles and materials found in the historic centre of Bodmin.

The developers say that 30% of the homes will be affordable housing comprising apartments and two and three-bedroom homes all built to NDSS standards, and the planning proposal includes 25% accessible homes. The Affordable Housing Statement mentions that there will be 51 affordable homes of which 36 will be for affordable rent and 15 are intermediate affordable housing to buy (nominally shared ownership).

The site’s boundaries are defined by mature Cornish hedges, which also run through the site, and mature trees which the plans’ Design and Access Statement (DAS) prepared by Thrive Architects on behalf of bunnyhomes, states “should be retained as much as possible and included in the site layout”. Views from the north of the intended development will extend to Bodmin Beacon.

The plans, originally for 168 homes, went to local public consultation during the summer and bunnyhomes say that although Covid-19 restrictions meant that they were unable to hold their intended public exhibition on the plans they say that “socially distanced meetings were held with approximately 40 immediate neighbours” and plans were modified accordingly.

The biggest issue with the original plans was that the proposed access was to have been via 51 Castle Street and a petition, submitted by Christopher Jenkin, appeared on the 38Degrees.com petition website objecting both to the access road being onto Castle Street and to the demolition of an existing home.

The DAS mentions that these objections also surfaced “overwhelmingly” in bunnyhomes’ public consultations, “alongside associated highways and traffic concerns”, so the “issue of access has now been resolved by the submitted plans having been amended to enable access off Old Callywith Road”.

The DAS also states that “highway improvements have already been introduced along Castle Street/Old Callywith Road, together with a new junction serving the college and new development of this application”.

A pedestrians only access route to Love Lane is also proposed in the plans.

Bunnyhomes pledges to “continue to engage with stakeholders and local communities to discuss the proposals” and the plans can be viewed on Cornwall Council’s planning.cornwall.gov.uk website under PA20 / 07691.