Plans for eight new homes in a village have gone before Cornwall Council.

The scheme to build houses on land formerly used as an owl sanctuary at Hocking’s House in St Cleer would comprise four affordable homes and four homes for sale on the open market.

Several planning applications have been submitted and refused for this site over the past few years, says agent Whitehead Planning, with the refusals being made due to the number and type of houses proposed, and the lack of a safe and suitable access. Most recently, an application was refused on the grounds that the site lies outside the settlement of St Cleer.

Following a positive response to a pre-application enquiry earlier this year, landowners Jo and Jeremy Richards and Chris Blee have submitted plans for an affordable-led, rural exception scheme, to include a new access point on the road to the north of the site. If necessary, a new pedestrian crossing point and footway could be created, subject to the views of the Parish and Cornwall Council, states the report made to Cornwall Council.

The existing access to the west of the field as it stands currently would be blocked to vehicles, but could remain as a pedestrian access point.

The creation of fewer houses on the plot than previously envisaged would allow for a higher quality scheme, says the applicant, with larger gardens, and the retention of existing landscaping, notably the Cornish hedge and trees that front the road.

The applicant argues that the site adjoins the settlement of St Cleer and would thus qualify as a rural exception development for affordable housing.