A SENIOR Mebyon Kernow councillor has condemned the London Government for forcing the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on the people of Cornwall, despite it being ’not fit for purpose’.

Cllr Andrew Long, who is chairman of the Eastern Planning Committee and member of the Strategic Planning committee at Cornwall Council, made the comment after it was revealed that a number of large planning applications were coming back to the council for reduction in affordable housing quantities, despite almost 29,000 households still on the housing waiting list.

Cllr Long said: ’As councillors, we are being forced, through the NPPF, to approve large sale housing developments across the Duchy despite the current infrastructure not being able to deal with the current population. The emerging Cornwall Local Plan, far from being local, is being altered by inspectors and government ministers as they seem intent on sacrificing Cornwall at the altar of large developers.

’Across South East Cornwall we are being forced to approve applications in towns where the schools are full and health centres at or near capacity. Yet we are being told that these applications are sustainable. And now, despite having a target for affordable housing, government interference has meant that many developers are now dropping the number of such housing, which means that the vast majority of new builds will be out of reach of the average Cornish person, with values up to 12 times the average annual income.

Cllr Long said the planning department was working hard to make these applications as beneficial to the people as possible, but often their hands are tied by legislation coming down from Westminster.

He added: ’Officers are recommending approval of applications that they know will have an adverse impact on communities but without a Cornish Planning Policy Framework they are left defenceless and having to support applications that will cause severe impact on local communities.’