MORE than 120 objectors packed into St Ives Guildhall to hear town councillors unanimously reject a proposal for what could amount to a whole new village being built between Carbis Bay and Lelant.
St Ives Council's planning committee met to hear the application for outline permission for the 235-home development at Gonwin Farm.
The meeting was relocated to the Guildhall from the council chamber to accommodate the large turnout.
After presentations from Cornwall Council planners and the Carbis Bay Residents' Action Group, each councillor outlined their objections.
St Ives Mayor Colin Nicholls said: "All of the councillors from the planning committee were there and everybody had something to say about it. St Ives Town Council unanimously rejected it."
Action group chairman Des Hosking said: "The town council planning committee unanimously agreed to support our request for refusal of the application, and that Cornwall Council should refuse the application.
"If a decision is not made within the 13-week timescale then it could be called in by the Secretary of State and we do not want this to happen."
The St Ives and Carbis Bay Urban Extension proposal – branded but one as a "blot on the landscape" – would see 235 homes built on farmland.
The plans include shops and industrial units, a restaurant, pub and café, and a sports field.
Gonwin Farm is currently home to a number of high-end holiday lets surrounded by green fields overlooking St Ives Bay. It sits not far off Longstone Hill, the busy main road into St Ives from the east and Lelant – the main route for holidaymakers, making it a prime spot for development.
Local names linked to the plan include Michael Wodskou, of Gonwin Manor, and David Ellsmore, of Porthia Limited.
Proposers Gonwin Developments and west Cornwall-based RLT Architects stress they have conducted a public consultation and made efforts to address local concerns.
Objections range from concerns about adding to an already-busy Longstone Hill – the proposal includes a new roundabout – to worries about the lack of schools and GPs.
Wider concerns involve the loss of such a large area of land and the loss of what many in Lelant see as the green buffer between that village and Carbis Bay and St Ives.
Dr Richard Machell, who lives near the site, said: "This is the largest application for housing ever in the St Ives area and there has been so little consultation between the planning department and the developers and our community."
