New houses approved despite landslide fears

Outline planning permission has been approved for homes on land opposite Salter Close

A planning committee has approved outline permission for more than 40 new homes in an area where a woman died as the result of a landslip 11 years ago.

The Diocese of Truro, which owns the land in Looe, and Looe LVA LLP sought permission to build 43 houses, including 13 affordable homes, opposite Salter Close, above roads which have been previously hit by landslips.

Looe Town Council, which opposed the plan, highlighted the landslide risk in its report to Cornwall Council’s planning department, including comments made by a coroner following the death of Susan Norman in 2013.

Cornwall Council's East sub-area planning committee approved the outline plans.

Susan Norman was killed when her home on Sandplace Road was engulfed in mud and rubble after 72 hours of heavy rain in March 2013.

'Tragic incident'

At the inquest into Mrs Norman's death, the coroner said Cornwall Council did not listen to concerns of local residents, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The coroner said: “I can do no more than submit a warning of the possibilities that may lie ahead if further weight is placed upon the area [and] if further disruption is caused to the ground and water table on the site.”

Speaking at Monday's meeting in Bodmin, planning agent Dan Yates said the plans were "robust".

“We recognise concerns have been expressed locally over drainage and ground stability,” he said, adding that assessments had resulted in satisfactory results.

Mrs Norman's home on Sandplace Road was engulfed in mud and rubble after 72 hours of heavy rain

He said there would be no water run-off flowing on to St Martin’s Road, and the affordable homes would benefit the 221 households in the area on the council’s housing waiting list.

“Contrary to some public concerns claiming our soakaway testing was undertaken during dry months, it was in fact undertaken in the wet months, including one of the wettest Octobers on record", he added.

"The work is therefore robust and supported by the lead local flood authority.”

Looe Cornwall councillor Armand Toms, who is "passionately" against the proposals, told the committee he had no confidence a similar tragedy would not happen again.

He told the meeting: “There have been seven incidents at the bottom of this road where there have been landslips or water running through properties, and we know of a death.

“Go there, see how wet that land is. Where they’re proposing to build this is just below where the water ran out of the hedge and down the road, which led to that tragic incident.”