A PLAN to build affordable homes in St Ann's Chapel has received a mixed response from parish councillors, who at their meeting last week decided to object to the proposals due to lack of detail. The application is to build 25 affordable dwellings, comprising 21 houses and four flats on land to the north of Whiterocks Park in St Ann's Chapel. Before councillors discussed the plan, agent for the applicant Chris Montagu told councillors that the site had been examined in 2012 and was considered most suitable for the development. He said: 'As this site is located on the edge of St Ann's Chapel, it is correct from a planning view that the development should only be for affordable houses.' At the time of the meeting, the application had received eight public comments — seven objecting and one neutral, and a number of comments from official bodies and organisations. Natural England made no adverse comments other than advising the applicant to consult the Tamar Valley AONB. Cornwall Council's Children's Services Local Authority was unable to support the application without agreement of a planning obligation towards additional or improved school places and facilities. Devon and Cornwall Police's architectural liaison officer did not support the application due to a number of areas in the design relating to parking, communal areas and the link between dwellings. During the meeting, Mr Montagu told councillors the houses would all be for rent, however, Cllr Dorothy Kirk thought the application was actually for a mix of tenure. Mr Montagu said: 'The proposal is for houses to rent. If councillors and the affordable housing officer want us to change it to some for rent and some for sale, we can look into it. The client knows the area and is of the opinion that there is a need for affordable rented housing.' Cllr Kirk said: 'It is difficult for us to make a decision if there is an uncertainty of what is proposed.' Councillors also had reservations about the application, stating the need for clarification on soakaways, and the proposed junction onto the A390. No comment from Cornwall Council's highways department had been received at the time. Cllr Mike Greenwood said: 'That is not a nice junction. I would like to see what Highways are prepared to do. A lot of traffic uses that road.' The idea of rentable properties was welcomed for young people and families but it was thought more work needed to be done on the plan to make it more friendly for residents. Cllr Ian Beech said: 'It seems that certain things have been missed off the application that should be there before it reached us.' Member of the public Mike Heaton, who lives at All Saints Park, adjacent to the development, had concerns about the height of the development, claiming it would be 'very visible'. He said: 'I feel elements of the application fall short of the requirements — there is no mention of arsenic levels and it failed to mention Japanese Knotweed. The layout received criticism from police and the road design merits a lot of conversation.' A resident of Cox Park also had concerns. He said: 'Cornwall has got to hang on to the Tamar Valley. 'If we keep allowing developers to keep creeping up the hill we are going to lose the beauty of the valley. We need to hang on to our heritage. 'The whole development requires a public consultation.' Councillors agreed to support the plan in principle but objected for a number of reasons. They said more explanation was needed on soakaways and where overflow water would go, confirmation on whether the houses would be rented or for sale and which housing association would take this on, confirmation from the highways department as to whether vehicular access was safe and increasing the safety of the footpaths. The council also stated that public consultation would be needed with the developer and local residents and that the need for affordable housing in the parish was mainly for one bedroom dwellings, so there would need to be more than four in the development. The final decision on the application will be made by Cornwall Council.