Cornwall Council could face court action after a company which was refused planning permission raised concerns one of its councillors had interests that he failed to declare.

Westcountry Land (Falmouth) Ltd has lodged a claim for a judicial review against the council following what it claims is the removal of a potential development site at Menehay from a list of allocated future development sites.

The legal action focuses on concerns that Boslowick Ward Councillor Alan Jewell, did not declare interests relating to the site, or remove himself from the decision-making process.

The claim by Westcountry Land states that Mr Jewell, who owns Pennance Mill Farm Chalet and Camping Park, was aware that his main competitor in this business, RJ Dunstan, of Menehay Farm Touring Park, stood to benefit financially from planning permission on the site at Menehay. It goes on to say that Mr Jewell was aware that if planning permission was granted, the covenant over Mr Dunstan’s land, which prevents the extension of his campsite, would be lifted, allowing it to be extended.

The claim states that Mr Jewell previously made comments about a conflict of interest between his and Mr Dunstan’s business. He was criticised at a town council planning meeting in 2011 for bringing his concerns about his own business into a debate which related to plans to extend Mr Dunstan’s caravan park. 

Mr Jewell was quoted as saying: “We are the only campsite in the borough of Falmouth and if this does go ahead it will take passing trade away from me. It would have an impact on my business.”

While Mr Jewell does sometimes sit on planning committees at Cornwall Council, these comments were made at a meeting of Falmouth Town Council, which advises on the planning process but cannot make decisions on it.

The claim also raises concerns that Mr Jewell had investigated plans to put student accommodation on his own land and subsequently had a say in policies relating to site allocations for student accommodation.

Westcountry Land recently had planning permission for 226 homes at Menehay turned down by Cornwall Council’s Strategic Planning Committee, due to concerns about landscape character, visual amenity and losing the boundary between Falmouth and Budock Water, as well as the site not being on emerging development plans for the area.

Mr Jewell, who does not sit on the committee unless called on as a replacement, was present as a substitute for regular member Geoffrey Evans. He did not declare an interest at the meeting, and spoke out against the development, which was turned down by 15 votes to two.

Justin Dodge, director of Westcountry Land, said: “We wish to ensure that the proper process for making crucial planning decisions is followed. We have reluctantly resorted to legal action to ask the court to scrutinise that process and the concerns raised. It’s in the public interest to ensure that the process is transparent and the interests of those making these decisions is properly declared.”  

In a statement, Cornwall Council said: "The inclusion of the Menehay site within the Allocations DPD was not supported for a number of reasons, one of which being that it was felt that an alternative disused brownfield site should be prioritised over the greenfield Menehay site.  The Council denies that there was any unlawfulness in the decision to not include the Menehay site within the Allocations DPD

Mr Jewell, who took legal advice from Cornwall Council’s solicitor before taking part in the debate, said: “It was 15 votes to two; it wasn’t a split decision. I was lobbied by members of my ward to stop the building and that’s what I’m there for - to represent the members of my ward. And they did not want houses there.”

James Instance, president of Falmouth Rugby Club which owns the land, stressed that the decision to go to judicial review was made by Westcountry Land.

He said: “When we originally heard that the plan for Menehay was withdrawn from the preferred sites document we contacted Cornwall Council and were assured by the officer responsible for planning that all due process had been followed. We hope that that remains the case.”