Slide to reopen despite council's planning refusal

The owner of a tourist attraction said it would reopen next month despite being refused planning permission.

In February Cornwall Council turned down the plans from Kernow Slide to build four lanes of slides 475ft (145m) long in a field in Little Downs near Bodmin.

The company's owner James Lance told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he would appeal against the planning refusal "within the legislated timescales" but that he planned to open the slide in May.

Cornwall Council said its enforcement action team was investigating the planned reopening of Kernow Slide.

The report by the council's planning department refused permission for the slide because it was in "an unsuitable location which is heavily reliant on a private vehicle and is not accessible by a range of transport modes and fails to protect landscape character".

It also noted that the attraction "would cause significant noise harm to neighbouring properties which would be considered unacceptable".

A resident of the hamlet, who did not want to be named, told the LDRS: "He [Mr Lance] has six months to appeal after February's refusal so he can continue operating until the end of the summer.

"He knows the process will take ages so he could have years out of it."

Mr Lance said: "In their professional assessment, the local highway authority raised no objections to the safety of the access into the site or to the suitability of roads serving the site; the application was not refused on highway safety grounds."

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said it would "consider the appropriate course of action" when its investigation was complete.

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