Plans to demolish a former care home and replace it with apartments have been recommended for approval.

The planning application for the redevelopment of Sheldon House in Falmouth is set to go before Cornwall Council's central sub-area planning committee on Monday (June 15th).

Planning officers have recommended that the plans be approved but they are going to the committee due to objections raised by the town council.

Under the proposals the former care home would be replaced with 34 apartments complete with parking and landscaping.

The scheme put forward is the fourth from the applicants Investin Sheldon Falmouth Developments and the current plans have been supported by the Cornwall Design Review Panel.

Changes made to the previous plans include reducing the number of apartments and the height of the new buildings.

All the apartments would have two bedrooms and they would be in five blocks varying from two to five storeys.

Falmouth Town Council has objected to the application saying:

"Refuse due to the height of the development that does not demonstrate sustainability. It is very tall even with the reduction in one floor for part of the development, still being more than a storey higher than its uphill neighbour Weller Court and more than two storeys taller than the downhill neighbour Melvill Court and therefore sets a detrimental precedent for the area."

The town council also claims that neighbouring properties would be shadowed and that the plans go against the neighbourhood plan policy on issues around design, sustainability and being in a conservation area.

Local Cornwall councillor for the area, Geoffrey Evans, has also objected to the plans citing the same objections as the town council.

Cornwall Council's conservation officer has also raised an objection saying that the design may not be appropriate and so does not comply with the Cornwall local plan.

The planning officer, in their report to the planning committee, accept that there is an impact on the conservation area but state that this should be looked at in the context of the area.

They write that the area "comprises C20th piecemeal development of varied quality and due to the topography, streetscape and surrounding buildings, the impact of that change would be very localised."

They state:

"Any harm that might occur to the setting of the conservation area is therefore considered to be minor and outweighed by the public benefit in terms of the provision of new housing on a sustainable previously developed site."

The planning application is due to go before the central sub-area planning committee on Monday (June 15th) which will meet online.