OUTLINE consent is being sought from Cornwall Council for a residential development of up to 190 dwellings in Launceston.

The planning application by Bovis Homes Limited is for land south of Tavistock Road, Launceston, next to the Withnoe Farm site that housebuilder Wainhomes is currently developing.

This application is made in outline for residential development of up to 190 homes and associated works including means of access, with all other matters — relating to appearance, landscaping, scale and layout — reserved.

If approved the application would also ‘safeguard land for the southern link road’, also known as the ‘southern loop road’ — which would link the A388, Tavistock Road to the Link Road. It is understood this road would not be finished before 2030, and would be constructed in stages as land is developed in the future.

Plans submitted to Cornwall Council by The Environmental Dimension Partnership on behalf of Bovis Homes state: “Land at Stourscombe, Launceston represents a unique opportunity to deliver a high quality development of new homes to the south of Launceston. The scheme will create investment in the local community and provide a variety of new housing types and tenures in this part of the town.

“New homes will be constructed to modern construction standards and a new area for children’s play will provide a valuable resource for both the surrounding and new community.

“This development will be shaped around an open space network and will extend the proposed linear park within the neighbouring consented development sites.”

The site is located on the south-eastern edge of Launceston, totalling 9.95ha and consists of two sheep-grazed fields divided by a Cornish hedge that runs north to south across the site.

The Lowley Brook runs along the southern boundary of the site, and further to the south lies the group of farm buildings associated with Newton Farm.

The fields slope southwards towards the watercourse along the southern boundary. The southern part of the site adjacent to Lowley Brook is the flattest part of the site. This area lies wet during the winter months and supports water tolerant vegetation.

A comment submitted to the council’s online planning portal from a member of the public objecting to the planning application reads: “With the number of new houses recently and currently being built in this small area, the local infrastructure is already finding it difficult to deal with the influx of hundreds, if not thousands, of new residents. Staff at the one and only GP/medical centre have already stated that the practice is being overwhelmed as are the local schools. Surely enough is enough in this small area without the addition of another possible 190 houses.”

A Bovis Homes spokeswoman said: “The proposed new homes are a portion of the 2,300 homes already identified in the adopted Cornwall Local Plan — they are not in addition to that. Bovis Homes is committed to creating a high-quality, sustainable new neighbourhood in Launceston and input from local people has been key to ensuring these much-needed new homes best suit the needs of the existing community. We are committed to providing the infrastructure required to support the new homes and will continue to work with the council as we develop these plans, looking to ensure that any infrastructure contributions enable expansion and improvement of key services in the area to meet additional demand.”

Launceston Town Council will have a chance to comment as a statutory consultee, and its planning and economic development committee will discuss the application at its meeting tonight (Thursday), 7pm, at the Town Hall.