YEARS of conflict between developers and residents reach a critical stage today (Thursday) when Caradon councillors consider plans by two housing giants to develop fields around Callington.

The applications for outline planning permission for residential development on 18 acres of Lord Foot's land at Southern Road and 36 acres on a site to the north west of the town at South Hill Road are to be discussed by the district council's planning committee at the Liskeard council chamber at 2pm.

Seventy-five 'affordable housing units' have been proposed by Prowting Projects Ltd and Tay Homes SW Ltd on Lord Foot's land and 430 houses by Wimpey Ltd and Persimmon Homes SW Ltd at South Hill Road.

Both developments have attracted widespread local disapproval.

An application for the Southern Road site has been refused already and a subsequent appeal dismissed on grounds of 'prematurity'.

This is the first application for the South Hill Road development.

Both plans have also been rejected by Callington Town Council which said the town's infrastructure should be improved before further major building took place.

But the 1997 Cornwall structure plan and Caradon's local plan both oblige the councils to allocate land for the housing requirements set out by central government.

The structure plan calls for 1,300 homes in the Callington and Gunnislake sub-area over the period 1986 to 2001.

Approximately 270 units are still required after taking into account sites under construction and those with planning permission.

The two sites were, therefore, considered to accommodate the new-housing need in the area.

Caradon preferred the South Hill Road site but a subsequent local plan enquiry by Government inspectors from October 1995 to April 1996 considered objections to the plan.

Their conclusion was published in January 1997.

They said although the site was better located, the uncertainties surrounding it made it unrealistic to count on this land to meet the housing provision target.

They opted for the more readily developable land owned by Lord Foot and the local plan was amended.

The applicants for the north west Callington site have addressed some of the problems but Caradon planning officers felt this would not outweigh or invalidate the inspectors' conclusions.

District council officers have recommended councillors approve the application for outline planning permission for the development of Lord Foot's land and reject the application for the South Hill Road development.

The council has already entered into a legal agreement with the developers under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990 to cover the number of units to be built, the number available for wheelchair use, provision for open spaces and landscaping and a financial contribution from the developer towards new schools necessitated by the development.

South West Water will also need to build a sewage pumping station, reinforce the water main and a suitable scheme for foul drainage and surface water disposal must be approved.

New school facilities will be required. The Cornish health authority says an expansion of the current surgery and the appointment of extra doctors will enable the satisfactory provision of health care.

The authority readily admits dental care in the area is inadequate and says Callington will be provided with an NHS dental service next year.

Council officers said their consultations indicated that there was no technical reason why the infrastructure could not be provided to meet the demands of the development if the developers make the necessary contribution.

It is envisaged by the inspectors that the deficit between the 75 houses to be built on Lord Foot's land and the 270 required by the plan would be marginal, having regard to present market conditions.