PLANS to develop a former garage in Mitchell into a residential scheme have moved up a gear after being approved.

A planning application has been given the go ahead to construct up to 16 dwellings at the Fourwinds Garage.

CAD Planning on behalf of the applicant said: “Fourwinds Garage is a family run business, established in 1988. They specialise in recovery and roadside repairs, but also offer a wide range of car services from MOTs, engine diagnostics to van repairs and servicing. The company has two sites in the village. The one subject of this advice is located at the end of the village adjacent to Chapel Terrace.

“The commercial site has recently closed. The site is located within the village of Mitchell, which straddles the A30. There is residential development all around the site. The site is predominately hard surfaced with a large workshop building sent back from the road. Cars and lorries are parked on the forecourt all around the building. At the rear of the site are cars in a compound which have been involved in accidents or broken down.

“The land owner purchased the site in 1999 due to an increased contract for the RAC and ran it until 2010, when the contract was lost to Fourwinds Garage. Four Winds then ran out of the site until January 2025 when the lease ended coinciding with them finding a new site. The site has been unoccupied since then.”

St Newlyn East Parish Council supported the plans but felt 16 houses on the site would be an overdevelopment. Concerns were also raised there is no designated visitor parking, which would result residents' guests and service vehicles parking along the main road causing congestion and potential safety issues.

The authority stated as a consultee: “In principle St Newlyn East Parish Council support this application and acknowledge that the land is included in the St Newlyn East Neighbourhood Plan as appropriate for development.

“Whilst it is only an indicative layout, 16 houses is an overdevelopment of the site and the parish council would prefer to see fewer houses being built. Electrical charging points should be included for each dwelling and the appropriate number of parking and visitor spaces provided to ensure that there is no parking on the road through Mitchell village.

“The sewage system for the development needs careful consideration and improvements must be made as South West Water have previously acknowledged that the pumping station is already at capacity. Any contaminated land must be disposed of appropriately.

“The parish council would like any Section 106 Open Space money to be allocated to the Mitchell Village Hall project.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

“The parish council now has planning permission to build a much-needed village hall in Mitchell the village has doubled in size and they do not have any community facilities. The parish council is looking at all funding avenues available and any contribution would be very welcome.”