To whom it may concern:

In July 2024 the Strategic Planning Committee of Cornwall County Council unanimously approved the building of a new housing development on the site of Dudman Farm in the Highertown area of Truro.

This was approved despite huge concern from residents (many of whom feel they were not properly consulted) and from other members of the public who opposed the plans on both environmental grounds and with regard to the strain the development would place on the existing infrastructure. It was also approved despite concerns being raised regarding effective drainage, pressure on the sewerage system, increased traffic and habitat destruction.

The land in question, comprised of open grassland, oak woodland and semi-wild meadow provides a habitat for a huge variety of small mammals, pollinators and birds, but is also a vital area for local people with some of the last remaining wild green space this side of Truro in which to walk, relax and connect with nature – all of which are essential for both mental and physical health.

Building on this land is entirely unnecessary, given the scale and size of other housing developments being built around the city (an extra 4000 homes at Langarth, for example), and the fact that the developer is providing the absolute minimum number of affordable homes (and requested to drop this number further) which makes it of very little use to people looking to get on the housing ladder.

Although outline planning permission was granted back in 2016, the following 8 years have seen huge building projects implemented around the City of Truro, with many more in the surrounding area. It is no longer preferable or necessary to consider the Dudman Farm site for development, or to weigh one of the last local wild green spaces against several hundred houses – most of which will be priced well out of reach of first-time buyers or of people who are in need of affordable accommodation.

The Council had a chance here to deny this application and make a real difference - taking a stand for one of our few remaining areas of wild nature and for the local people whom it claims to represent.

Instead, it has chosen to side with a profit-driven housing contractor with no interest in the wellbeing of the local people or wildlife; has chosen to heap additional pressure on an already struggling and outdated road system; chosen to increase the volume of traffic passing through existing housing estates which were never meant to support it and chosen the destruction of vast numbers of trees, animals and plants in an established and thriving ecosystem which we will never get back.

Considering the above points and the nature of the contractor the Council has aligned itself with, we can only draw the conclusion that the Council does not have the best interests of either the climate, nature or local people at heart (as it frequently claims to) and is instead happy to sacrifice large areas of land along with the safety and wellbeing of local residents to a scheme that is outdated and unnecessary.

Housing for the local population IS important and it is essential that everyone is housed in a safe, suitable and pleasant way, but we cannot simply go on building houses on our remaining green space and hope that everything will turn out ok. New-build houses are certainly one facet of the solution, but there are huge developments in process around the City to tackle the housing problem, with very little thought being given to either the local infrastructure of doctor’s surgeries, dentists, hospital services, schools, or the natural environment which we are losing at an unprecedented rate.

We, the undersigned, urge the Council to truly represent the local people and to use all means within its power to overturn the planning decision and prevent this unnecessary and potentially dangerous development from going ahead, and prevent the destruction of our local area and wildlife in the name of profit.