ANGRY Penponds residents claim that a planning application submitted for the "heart" of their village will open up a precedent for housing development, compound traffic problems and force the closure of an 80-year-old family business.

Councillors were sympathetic when 30 banner wielding residents attended a meeting of Camborne Town Council's planning committee to register their fears about Camborne Methodist Circuit's outline planning application to build two bungalows at The Nursery on Mill Road.

Mill Road resident Carol Richards said the group was concerned that planning permission could open up the site, currently a working nursery, for a large housing development compounding the villages already dire traffic problems. Mrs Richards said that if permission went ahead it would mean "the forcible closing down of a viable family business" that supplies village businesses with produce and provides local employment.

As a consultee to the planning process, councillors at Camborne voted unanimously to ask for a site meeting. The final decision will go before Carrick district council.ANGRY Penponds residents claim that a planning application submitted for the "heart" of their village will open up a precedent for housing development, compound traffic problems and force the closure of an 80-year-old family business.

Councillors were sympathetic when 30 banner wielding residents attended a meeting of Camborne Town Council's planning committee to register their fears about Camborne Methodist Circuit's outline planning application to build two bungalows at The Nursery on Mill Road.

Mill Road resident Carol Richards said the group was concerned that planning permission could open up the site, currently a working nursery, for a large housing development compounding the villages already dire traffic problems. Mrs Richards said that if permission went ahead it would mean "the forcible closing down of a viable family business" that supplies village businesses with produce and provides local employment.

As a consultee to the planning process, councillors at Camborne voted unanimously to ask for a site meeting. The final decision will go before Carrick district council.

Judge refuses landfill site judicial review

A High Court judge has thrown out an application for a judicial review of planning permissions for the United Mines Landfill Site.

But it appears that the site, used by thousands of people in the area for dumping excess waste, could still be operating without valid planning permission.

Protestors living near the tip want it closed and have long argued it was being operated without proper planning permission.

Last week, Mr Justice Owen decided there was a "plainly arguable case" that the site may not be operating legally despite refusing the application for a judicial review.

The latest twist in a long-running dispute concerning the United Downs tip brought "no comment" yesterday from County Environmental Services who operate the site for the county council. It too was reluctant to discuss the matter saying its legal expert was away. Both the council and CES had not obtained a copy of the judgement and would not comment until they had.

It was in the High Court that planning barrister Miss Morag Ellis, instructed by Follett Stock, of Truro, on behalf of a local resident, claimed that conditions attached to a 1974 planning permission and granted by Cornwall county council to itself, had never been superceded and, despite a later permission granted in 2001, still governed the site. One of those conditions limited the height of any tipping and CES was in breach of that condition. "The judge thought our case was plainly arguable. In fact, in our view, the position advanced by our client is unanswerable," said Mr Chris Lingard from Follett Stock.

But the judge "reluctantly" refused to allow the resident to continue with her judicial review after hearing argument from barristers for the county council and CES that no effective measures to stop the breach would be taken until at least the end of the year, he said. CES had promised that dumping on phase 4 would end then anyway.

Mr Lingard added: "We welcome the promise given by CES that tipping on the existing site will stop by the end of this year. However, this is a quite extraordinary state of affairs. The authority charged with policing the planning permission, and the party accused of breach of that planning permission, have together told the judge that nothing can be done in the next eight months. It is particularly extraordinary when one remembers that CES is wholly owned by Cornwall county council.

"I think residents affected adversely by the planning breach have a right to ask why the council is unwilling to perform its enforcement role in this case." It is understood that an appeal is being considered.