A housing development has been given planning permission despite the site having been earmarked for allotments.

Cornwall Council’s west sub-area planning committee granted planning permission on Monday morning (July 29) for the development of 15 homes on land off Spar Lane in Illogan.

The site sits next to a development of 69 new homes, which was granted planning permission in 2014.

As part of the planning consent the developer signed a Section 106 legal agreement, which said it would provide land to Illogan Parish Council to be used for allotments.

The committee heard there had been widespread opposition to the plans, but when the developer offered land for allotments many agreed that it should go ahead.

Local Cornwall councillor David Ekinsmyth said: “One of the things that Illogan Parish Council has been seeking for 20 or 30 years is allotment land and there was none available.

“I remember coming out of the meeting and saying if that is the case I was prepared to go back to the community and argue for the development.”

However the parish council refused to accept the land from the developer after finding that it was contaminated and it would cost £200,000 to make it suitable for allotments.

Cllr Ekinsmyth said: “The council wouldn’t take a piece of land for £1 and then find that it is going to cost £200,000 to make it useable. The parish council didn’t believe it could justify spending that sort of money.”

As a result the developer was able to find an alternative use for the site and submitted the plans for 15 additional homes with no affordable homes.

Illogan Parish Council and Cllr Ekinsmyth argued that the new development should include affordable housing.

Cllr Ekinsmyth said the original plans had included 40 per cent affordable homes, which was later reduced to 32 per cent on agreement with the council.

He said that if the development was considered to be an extension of the other development then it should also have 32 per cent affordable homes.

But if the application was considered to be a new application then it should provide 25 per cent affordable homes as required under the Cornwall local plan.

However, planning officers and the affordable housing team at Cornwall Council said that even with the additional housing the overall development would provide 26 per cent affordable homes – one per cent higher than the local plan requires.

Committee member Sue James said that it was a “very sad situation” regarding the allotment land.

She said: “It seems to me that if you agree to provide allotment land you should provide land for allotments.”

Councillors questioned the affordable housing, but the council’s legal officer said that as the affordable housing team supported the plans and the levels of affordable housing were in line with the local plan it would be difficult to refuse planning permission on those grounds.

The committee voted to approve the application by seven votes to five.