A campsite has been granted permission to expand and have up to 25 pitches despite concerns about increased traffic.

Hillcrest Farm at Illogan was granted permission to increase its number of pitches along with landscaping by Cornwall Council’s west sub-area planning committee.

Amy Usher, who applied for the permission with her husband, told councillors that the farm had been in her family’s ownership for more than 100 years.

She explained that in recent years they had diversified by expanding from arable farming to livestock and then having horses on site and eventually to use some of the land for camping.

Mrs Usher said that she had previously been a veterinary nurse but that running the campsite business was her sole work.

She said that the campsite layout had been designed so that the pitches would be around the edge of the field with the centre left open so that children have somewhere to play.

Mrs Usher said that increasing the number of pitches to 25 would be a small expansion for the business.

She said that they wanted to keep any impact on nearby residents to a minimum but also help to support the local economy through visitors to the site.

However Graham Ford from Illogan Parish Council said that the council was concerned about increased traffic going to and from the site.

He said that Bassett Road, which provides access to the site, often has cars parked along it making it a single lane road which he said was unsuitable for caravans and motorhomes.

Cllr Ford said that the increase in pitches would also have a negative impact on the open character of the area.

Councillors were told though that there had been no comments received from people living close to the site.

David Crabtree, Cornwall councillor for the area, said he supported the parish council in objecting to the plans saying that he understood the concerns about the road.

However committee member John Thomas proposed that councillors approve the plans as recommended by planning officers.

He said that he thought the applicant “seems to be a responsible person and there are no neighbour objections”.

His proposal was seconded by John Keeling who said that the campsite owner was being responsible by applying for permission and highlighted that the council’s highways officers had raised no issues with the plans.

The committee voted unanimously in favour of granting approval.