A DEVELOPER’S appeal against a decision to refuse permission for housing in a village has been dismissed by the planning inspector.

Dobwalls Parish Council and residents say they are delighted with the outcome of the inspector’s review of the matter, which means that land at Treheath Farm, opposite the primary school, will now not be built upon.

Applicant T Murphy, acting on behalf of the landowner, had hoped to build 24 affordable homes at the site.

While the Cornwall Council planning officer assigned to the case had recommended that the scheme be approved, Councillors who sit on the East planning committee decided by 12 votes to one in September 2020 that it should be refused.

Grounds given for refusing the project at the time included that putting houses on the land would result in the urbanisation of ‘best and most versatile’ agricultural land. It would mean the encroachment of built form into undeveloped countryside, harming the natural character and beauty of the area.

In his appeal against the refusal, Mr Murphy said that the development would result in only negligible loss of the best agricultural land, and argued that the Cornwall Local Plan supports new affordable housing which is ‘outside but adjacent to existing towns or villages’.

But in his report weighing up the evidence and concluding the matter, inspector Mr A Spencer-Peet said that the benefits of the scheme in providing affordable housing did not outweigh the harm.

“In my assessment,” he wrote, “it (this land) forms a part of the countryside, and its undeveloped rural characteristics make a positive contribution to the pleasant rural landscape setting of Dobwalls.

“By reason of the location of the appeal site at the periphery of the village, the proposal would result in some loss of openness in this location which marks the transition between the concentrated built-up area of Dobwalls and the predominantly open countryside south of the site.”

Parish Council chairman John Dunn said that “everyone in the village appears delighted with the outcome of the planning appeal”.

“The parish council have worked closely with Cllr Jane Pascoe on this case and the input from the village in opposing the project has been fantastic.”

Cornwall Councillor for Liskeard West and Dobwalls Jane Pascoe said that the committee decision to go against officer recommendation, and then the planning inspector’s decision to dismiss the appeal, showed that villagers’ concerns had been taken into account and demonstrated that “the planning process works at all levels”.

“I have been concerned about this application from the outset. Dobwalls has taken more than its fair share of development, with at least 240 homes built in the past few years,” she said.

“The village’s primary school is at capacity and with more houses being built this situation can only get worse.

“More so, the location for this application was unacceptable.

“In particular I am pleased that the inspector, in his decision, states that he was not convinced that there was a mechanism to secure adequate provision of affordable housing, public open space, education contributions and biodiversity net gain, as well as having an issue with the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the surrounding area.

“I hope this will draw a line under further inappropriate development in this area.”