Villagers in Playing Place, near Truro, have written to Viscount Falmouth urging him not to sell a field that developers plan to convert into housing, saying the move would put the village’s history and community at risk.
Luxury developer Legacy Properties is preparing to submit a planning application in the coming months that could see as many as 70 homes built on land off Old Coach Road owned by Evelyn Boscawen, the 10th Viscount Falmouth. Residents say the field contains two scheduled ancient monuments — including the remains of a plain-an-gwarry, a medieval amphitheatre that gives the village its name, and an Iron Age settlement — and should be preserved.
In a letter addressed to the Viscount, villagers who have formed the Playing Place Action Group urged him to reconsider any sale. "These medieval amphitheatres were once central to Cornish life, used for plays, gatherings and community events," the letter said. "They are part of our unique cultural identity — and once destroyed, they are lost forever." Group members named in media reports include Hillery Cope and Corinne Church.
The residents also cited practical concerns. They warned that new housing would increase traffic on narrow local roads and could put further pressure on already oversubscribed Kea Community Primary School and the village GP surgery. Parts of the field are known to be vulnerable to flooding, the letter added, which the group said raised doubts about the site's suitability for new housing.
The Playing Place site is part of the wider Tregothnan estate, which Viscount Falmouth inherited in March 2022 and which comprises roughly 25,000 acres in Cornwall. The letter noted that the Viscount has previously objected to wind turbine developments near his estate and urged him to apply the same custodial judgment to the Playing Place land.
Local authorities must consider applications against national and local planning policies, including protections for scheduled ancient monuments. National policy requires that proposals affecting heritage assets take account of their significance and seeks to avoid or minimize harm. Any planning application submitted by Legacy Properties would be subject to consultation and assessment by Cornwall Council, which would weigh heritage, environmental and infrastructure impacts alongside the need for housing.
Cornwall faces recognised housing needs, and locally produced plans have identified sites to help meet those requirements. Residents acknowledged the county’s need for affordable homes but argued that development should not come at the expense of acknowledged historic features and community safety. The Playing Place Action Group said there may be other locations better suited to housing development while preserving the plain-an-gwarry and surrounding landscape.
No public statement from Viscount Falmouth or Legacy Properties was included with the residents’ letter. Any sale of the field would be a private transaction, and a subsequent planning application would determine whether development could proceed. If a planning application is lodged, it would typically trigger a period of public consultation and technical assessments, including archaeological and flood-risk appraisals.
The letter from Playing Place residents frames the land as part of the village’s cultural heritage and urges the Viscount to act as a custodian rather than a vendor. The group said that by protecting the site, the landowner could be remembered "not just as a landowner, but as a guardian of Cornwall’s past — and its future."