���˿���

Plans to turn a historic mill in Cornwall into affordable housing have been approved.

Cornwall Council applied to convert Loggans Mill in Hayle into 16 apartments.

The authority's sub-area planning committee unanimously approved the plans, as well as an application for listed building consent, the said.

The Grade-II listed building, which dates back to the 1850s, had fallen into disrepair.

It prompted a campaign led by local people and councillors to save the building.

Various uses for the building have been considered over the years, including converting it into a hotel.

Plans to use it for housing were proposed in a project with Coastline Housing in 2017 and were revived by the council last year.

Under the new proposals, the former mill will be converted into eight one-bedroom apartments and eight two-bedroom apartments.

These will all be affordable and offered for rent by Cornwall Housing, the council's own registered housing provider.

The committee heard there were currently 418 households on the housing waiting list in Hayle.

Anne-Marie Rance, a councillor at Hayle Town Council, commended former town councillor John Pollard, who recently died, for his work in protecting the building.

She said the former mill had been “very near to John’s heart”.

Lionel Pascoe, the current Cornwall Council member for the area, said Mr Pollard asked him to “keep on at Cornwall Council and get something done about it”.

The committee heard the building was in a poor state and that the internal floors had collapsed.

Cornwall Council last year had to erect scaffolding around the building to prevent any external collapse.