THE chairman of a planning committee has criticised Tintagel Parish Council for not attending a meeting to discuss an application it had opposed, writes Richard Whitehouse, local democracy reporter.

A reserved matters planning application — to determine certain aspects of the plan — for a new house to be built on land on Atlantic Road in Tintagel went before Cornwall Council’s east sub-area planning committee on Tuesday, February 4.

But the application, which was recommended for approval, had only been referred to the committee due to a request from Tintagel Parish Council.

The parish council said it had to be determined by the committee as it was concerned that it could result in the loss of privacy, light and amenities to neighbouring properties. The parish council also objected on grounds that the site is in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB).

Yet there was no parish council representative at the meeting to explain to councillors why the parish council had objected.

Committee chairman Chris Batters was not impressed and said: “Why is no-one here from the parish council when they are so against it? Someone should be here to represent them. I think it is very poor in itself.”

Outline planning permission had already been granted for the single-storey dwelling and the new application was only around issues such as access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale.

Planning officers said the principle of building a home on the site was already established due to the outline approval and all other aspects of the proposal were acceptable.

A condition of the outline approval was that the new home should be single storey to avoid impact on neighbouring properties. Committee member Andrew Long said: “There is no justification for refusing the application.”

The planning committee granted planning permission. The Post contacted the parish council, but did not receive a comment before it went to press.