Homes approved on award-winning vineyard against planners’ wishes
AN application to build up to nine houses at a vineyard and orchard near Penzance has been approved against the advice of planning officers.
John and Kim Coulson, who run the award-winning Polgoon Vineyard, were seeking consent in principle to build between four and nine houses on Polgoon Farm.
The site already has planning permission for a winery production building and nine holiday cottages.
Cornwall Council’s planning department had recommended the west sub-area planning committee refuse the proposal.
It argued the development would be in open countryside, in an area not classed as a settlement and that the A30 would act as a boundary between the site and Penzance.
However, councillors at a meeting at County Hall/Lys Kernow on April 29 argued that Polgoon actually predated Penzance as a settlement and accused the planning officers of offering inconsistent advice, 320 houses further along the A30 at Trannack having recently been approved.
Penzance Council and divisional Cornwall councillor Andrew George both backed the application, against the officers’ recommendation.
Mayor of Penzance Stephen Reynolds, on behalf of the town council, said Polgoon had existed as a settlement since the 14th century, making it in fact older than Penzance.
“The housing crisis is often cited in planning applications, but it’s not cited here”, he said.
“It sends out a strange kind of message that the site is OK for holiday lets but not permanent homes. We need new homes and we should be supporting award-winning local business people like Kim and John Coulson who are looking to develop this brownfield site for housing to help secure the long-term future of their business”.
The meeting heard the Coulsons wanted to develop their business and the housing plan was a way to facilitate that instead of building holiday lets.
Cllr George mentioned that access to the A30 for the housing development at Trannack, “just a little way along the road from this one”, was seen as acceptable when it was approved, “but for nine units it’s considered unacceptable and would have an impact on highway safety”.
He said the advice seemed inconsistent and could lead to an appeal.
Committee members argued Polgoon was an established settlement and a brownfield site, and voted 9-1 to approve the application.