THE impact of a new housing development on the landscape of a site in Looe must be weighed against the high need for affordable homes before a decision can be made, writes a Cornwall Council planing officer.

Davina Pritchard was writing in response to a request for pre-planning advice from Carolyn Arnold, Pippa Gerret and Clare Maher, who hope to build 50 homes on a piece of land at Bay Down in East Looe.

The site is near Looe Primary Academy and on the edge of an existing residential area.

The high housing need in Looe justifies the scale of the development, which would be affordable-led, writes the planning officer in her advice to the landowners.

But there would likely be concerns over the loss of best agricultural land, and the impact of any development on the surrounding landscape.

Ms Pritchard writes: ‘The success of any future application is likely to be dependant on …demonstrating that these impacts are outweighed by the benefits of the development in providing affordable housing.’

Cornwall Council’s Historic Environment department has flagged up the likelihood of finding archaeological remains at the site.

The department has recommended that heritage impact and archaeological assessments be carried out before a full planning application is made.

In a statement to Cornwall Council’s planning department, it states: ’The proposed development area lies within land characterised as Anciently Enclosed Land. There is a high probability for the survival of buried archaeological remains

‘In addition we note a number of known heritage assets are located nearby on he spur of headland overlooking Looe and the sea………all of these enhance the likelihood of further discoveries within the site itself.’