Due to the restrictions placed on the council as a result of the pandemic Coronavirus, this response represents the opinion of members of Calstock Parish Council identified through a consultation process and will be ratified at the next appropriate meeting of the council.

PA20/02257 Satis House Road from Honicombe Corner to Spray Cottage St Anns Chapel PL18 9HA

Works to trees namely – Scotch Pines G1 to remove the lower branches of the trees subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO)

Comment:

The Parish Council will defer to the Tree Officer’s decision

PA20/02082 Location Land North of Greenhill House Delaware Road Drakewalls

Application for planning permission for a residential development for a single 4bedroom detached dwelling.

Comment:

1) Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site (WHS)

The Archaeological Evaluation and Historic Building Record Report no. 2020OR11 by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit focuses on the yard surfacing and walling and the road front. It makes recommendations on options to address the issues raised in the archaeological survey. These have been incorporated Schedule of Repairs in section 6 of the Design and Access Statement.

  1. a)    If this application be approved the commitments in the Schedule of Repairs should be made conditions of the development.

Paragraph 2.177 of the Cornwall Local Plan (CLP) states that ‘the significance of a heritage asset can be harmed or lost through … development within its setting. Any harm or loss … will require clear and convincing justification to allow the harm to be balanced against any public benefits of the proposal. Policy 24: Historic environment states that ‘great weight will be given to the conservation of Cornwall’s heritage assets … Proposals causing harm will be weighed against the substantial public, not private, benefits of the proposal.’

The Archaeological Evaluation did consider the impact of this proposal on the setting of the site and particularly on the Greenhill Arsenic Works chimney. However, this proposal isolates the chimney from its setting and obscures the connection between the yard, chimney, Greenhill House and miners’ cottages. There is no public benefit from this proposal

  1. b)    Therefore, this proposal is contrary to Paragraph 2.177 and Policy 24 of the CLP.
  2. Settlement Boundary – Calstock Parish Draft Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP)

The NDP has completed the Reg 14 consultation. There was a significant level of response from the consultation. 94% of responses either supported the Plan in its entirety or supported it with only minor reservations. The Plan, therefore, has clear support from the community and therefore has some weight as a material planning consideration. It is about to be submitted to Cornwall Council though submission has been delayed by the current lockdown.

Policy HP1 of the NDP [p 46] – Settlement Development Boundaries sets development boundaries, beyond which any development is defined as the ‘open countryside’. Cornwall Local Plan, paragraph 2.32, supports this approach, saying that ‘Neighbourhood Plans may, if they feel it appropriate, look to identify specific settlement boundaries.’

Under Policy HP1 any development in the open countryside will be strictly controlled by CLP Policy 7 and will be limited to dwellings to meet essential needs of rural workers, replacement dwellings, house extensions, rural exception housing sites under CLP Policy 9.

  1. c)      This proposal is outside the settlement development boundary for Drakewalls & Albaston [see NDP Map 12, p 86] and does fit the exceptions to Policy 7.  It is therefore not supported by the Plan.

PA20/02080 10 Johnson Park, Calstock

Removal of existing prefabricated garage. Construction of a two-storey side extension to dwelling and a single storey extension to the rear.

Comment:

Removing the existing garage and replacing it with a two- storey extension on the side of the property is fully supported and is consistent with development to the properties either side of this property.  The Parish Council would, therefore, support this application subject to the case officer agreeing that there is no substantial overlooking. Should the case officer see this differently the council are happy to support negotiation between the applicants and the department without referring the matter back to the parish council.