EACH week, hundreds of planning applications come before Cornwall Council’s planning department, seeking to win approval for various plans right across the Duchy, with some concerning Holsworthy handled by Torridge District Council.

These plans can comprise of a number of different reasonings – ranging from permission to replace windows or listed building consent ranging up to large house building developments or changing of use of a building, for instance, from an office to a café, or flats.

Within this large and often complex system, there are a number of formats from which planning advice and approval can be sought.

These range from full applications where all the details which comprise a proposed development or work to a building are submitted, to outline applications, where further details are yet to be confirmed, for example, an outline application with reserved matters for appearance may not confirm the final proposed development but rather seek permission in principle.

An example of this is one for an outline permission for 20 dwellings on land with reserved matters for appearance and scale; the reserved matters would require further permission later for their inclusion.

Other types of applications include pre-application advice requests, where would-be developers submit often outline proposals to a local authority to ascertain whether it is likely to gain support or not prior to submitting a planning application.

The vast majority of applications are decided by planning officers employed by a local authority under ‘delegated powers’, meaning they do so on behalf of their employer, however, some applications are ‘called in’ by local councillors to be discussed at an area’s strategic planning committee meeting, meaning the final decision rests with a committee of councillors.

Thomas Williams, of Werrington Park House, has applied for a pre-application ‘ultimate planning performance agreement’ for the change of use of a brownfield site at Ladycross Farm, Werrington, near Launceston, to 24 dwellings and the conversion of Grade II listed barns to form a farm shop, public house and office units

There would also be a parking area for Werrington Primary School and the creation of a public footpath linking Ladycross to Yeolmbridge.

The scheme proposes 24 homes which would be delivered in phases – four self-build plots, four affordable houses and 16 market homes of various sizes, with off-street parking. Land would also be provided to enlarge the primary school’s play area.

The pre-application submission seeks guidance from Cornwall Council on its level of support for the scheme and any advice on overcoming any concerns related to the application.

For more details see pre-planning application PA25/00762/PREAPP.

An application for permission in principle for a five-home development has been made for agricultural land adjacent to the Frog and Bucket pub at South Petherwin, near Launceston.

The applicants told Cornwall Council: “This statement is submitted in support of a Permission in Principle (PiP) application for the development of between 5 and 5 [as supplied] dwellings at land adjacent to the Frog and Bucket Pub at South Petherwin.

“The application is made in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Permission in Principle) Order 2017, as amended. PiP seeks to establish the suitability of the site for residential development in principle, with technical details to be addressed in a subsequent application.

“The site is situated on agricultural land adjacent to a Public House (The Frog & Bucket) and enclosed with established boundaries and a classified highway to the north. It lies to the southeast of South Petherwin which is approx. 2.5 miles south of Launceston. . The site is well-related to the existing settlement pattern and within walking distance of key local services including the South Petherwin Village Hall, South Petherwin community primary school, and public transport links. The adjacent land, edged in blue on the Location Plan, has extant planning consent for 5 dwellings and remain in the ownership of the applicant.

“The site is suitable for small-scale residential development for the following reasons:

• Sustainable Location – South Petherwin has a community primary school, bus services, and local community facilities, providing a suitable location for modest growth.

• Logical Extension – The site adjoins a greenfield land with planning permission for the construction of 5 no. dwellings and represents a logical and visually contained extension to the already planning permission and the village.

• Landscape Impact – The site is relatively flat and enclosed by hedgerows and trees to the north and east side, minimising landscape and visual impact.

• No Technical Constraints – There are no known constraints relating to flood risk, access, utilities, or contamination that would preclude development in principle.

• Small-Scale and Policy-Compliant – The proposal for 5 to 5 dwellings accords with the scale of growth envisaged in rural areas aligns with the spatial strategy of supporting sustainable villages.

“While we acknowledge the site is currently agricultural and situated on the edge of the village, it is physically and visually connected to the village. The site is immediately adjacent to existing public house, with a road to the north and established hedge to the west and no fundamental locational constraints. The modest scale of 5 dwellings is entirely in keeping with the form and grain of the settlement.

“The key consideration is not whether the site constitutes “infill” or “rounding off” under Policy 3 of the Cornwall Local Plan.”

For more details see planning application PA25/05611.

Blisland Parish Council has called for a controversial application for a certificate of lawfulness for two dwellings on Bodmin Moor to be referred to a council committee for elected officials to decide on in conjunction with the authority’s solicitor, as opposed to by officers.

Dominic Fairman, who was the Cornwall Council member for St Teath and Tintagel between 2017 and 2025, is seeking to legalise the use of two buildings as dwellings on his land at South Penquite Farm, Penquite, Blisland.

The buildings, which were constructed in 2016, have been used as dwellings since 2018 without planning permission – with a lawful development certificate being a method used to get permission for unauthorised buildings or uses if an applicant can prove there has either been no enforcement by the planning authority in four years or it has been erected for 10 years or more.

Mr Fairman was a member of the east area planning committee, which decides on applications which are called in by officers or other councillors between May 2021 and May 2025.

Blisland Parish Council said in its consultation response to Cornwall Council: “Blisland Parish Council considered the application at its meeting on July 24, and does not believe, under the circumstances, that it is qualified to make a determination as to the lawfulness or otherwise of this application.

“However, given the sensitive nature of the application, the council does believe that the decision as to whether or not the Lawful Development Certificate should be granted, should be made by Cornwall Council elected Councillors sitting as the constituted Planning Committee, with advice from the Council's Planning Solicitor.”

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