Cornwall planning inquiry

AN INQUIRY into planning practices in North Cornwall is to be held by the Department of the Environment following complaints about permission being granted for development in beauty spots contrary to national guidelines, writes Christian Wolmar.

The inquiry, the first of its kind, will attempt to 'restore confidence in the planning system in the district'. As first reported in the Independent in April 1991, most of the complaints concerned houses built on agricultural land in areas of outstanding natural beauty, often by farmers who said they would use them as retirement homes but later sold them.