Planning officers have said proposals for 300 homes on land near to Ponsharden would require careful consideration of how the site "relates to and links to adjacent areas" before any work could go ahead.

The green field land which runs from the old Vospers site to the Hill Head roundabout is owned by the Church Commissioners, the body which managed the property of the Church of England, and any new development would straddle the Truro to Falmouth railway line.

JTP architects, the company working on the plans with the commissioners, recently held a public consultation to outline the plans, which include the government's minimum requirement of 35 per cent affordable housing, and to get feedback from residents, and also submitted a request for pre-application advice to Cornwall Council.

Looking at the current information, planning officer Nick Marsden said: "Some illustrative plans had been developed for the public consultation... however these have not been submitted with the preapp and therefore no comment is offered.

"One of the key challenges to bringing a successful development forward on the site will be the quality of the linkages to the surrounding communities. The link and relationship with Trescobeas open space and provision of a community facility is one element. The other is the need for the links to the adjacent site proposed for housing."

The planning officer also laid out several requirements for the site, including the need for a landscape buffer to the north due to "the sensitive nature of the site, and the need for the development to encourage the creation of a community, and protect the setting of the area of outstanding natural beauty.

The council has said it will also require agreements over the provision of affordable housing "in perpetuity," a contribution to local education services of £2,736 per open market home with more than

one bedroom, a highways contribution of £2,655 per open market home, an off site open space contribution, and an contribution of £160 per dwelling to manage and mitigate effects on the nearby Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation.

Mr Marsden wrote in his conclusion: "The site is a greenfield site on the edge of Falmouth. The site forms part of a proposed allocation for housing and it is therefore considered that housing would comply with the development plan."