Cornwall Car Centre, Dracaena Avenue, Falmouth apartments

At a meeting of the town council's planning committee on Monday, councillors were told that the police had objected to the proposal on the site of the old Cornwall Car Centre Ltd in Dracaena Avenue.

Devon and Cornwall Police were concerned about privacy issues, with windows directly facing the police station immediately adjoining the offices of the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and the PSD (Professional Standards Department).

There were also concerns about the noise from the new skate park going to be built in Dracaena Playing Fields, annoying future residents.

Looking towards the new skate park site

Cornwall councillor David Saunby told the committee: "We are having a really high-tech skate park being put in. Obviously these [apartments] are going to be put up for sale. I have seen it before. People move in and even if you sound proof it people are going to start complaining about the noise in the skatepark."

Read next:

Skatepark design for Falmouth gets the green light from county planners

An application to build a block of 19 holiday apartments has already been approved but the new application increases the number of apartments and makes them residential.

Dylan Myers, who represent Lux Blu Developments the people behind the scheme, told councillors the biggest concerns raised were around the skate park and the police station.

"The police have raised a few objections and we have actually arranged for a noise assessment to be done which we will hopefully have back in the next couple of weeks," he said.

"We have addressed all the points raised by police officers and there are some potential slight changes to the windows which might satisfy them."

The view of the police station from the rear

He said the ground floor flats would have a solid concrete core which is really sound resistant and triple glazing on the upper floors.

The application consists of 12-one bed apartments and 14-two bed apartments, with around seven to eight of them affordable

The nearest flats fall within a 30 metre sound zone with six apartment only 24.5 metres away from the skate park.

Cllr John Spargo said the previous design was reasonable and he would have given it six or seven out of ten whereas this one he would give it just four.

Falmouth mayor Steve Eva it was a 'case of a pint in a quart pot and it doesn't quite fit'.

Aerial view

"I think it's quite obvious overdevelopment," he said. "There is no amenity space, there are objections from the police and, as David quite correctly said, there are going to be issues with the skateboard park."

Chairman Cllr Alan Jewell it wouldn't be fair on the residents with the noise from the skate park next door.

"We have a fantastic facility for the people of Falmouth going to built and it is going to be a very good focal point for whole of Falmouth," he said. "It won't be fair to put people there. It is more suited to holiday use. If you are living there 24/7 you are going to hear it."

Councillors recommend refusal, citing an overdevelopment of the site and poor design and a lack of amenity space for the number of apartments proposed. Concerns about the proximity to the police station and new approved skatepark. "The previous proposal for 19 holiday apartments is much more appropriate for this site," they said.