Scott Mann has welcomed a ruling by the High Court to stop the building of second homes in St Ives, saying it would set a precendent for other towns and villages in Cornwall to do the same.

The challenge came from a property developer after the St Ives Neighbourhood Development Plan, which was passed in a local referendum in June this year, contained a condition that newly built homes had to be a primary residence and could not be used as second homes.

Neighbourhood Development Plans were introduced in the 2011 Localism Act, which give communities the power to stipulate how and where to build housing and infrastructure. The Plan must then be considered when the local authority consider planning applications.

By blocking the construction of second homes, land can instead be prioritised for affordable homes for local people.

Reacting to the news, Scott said:

"I welcome this decision by the High Court to grant St Ives the ability to put a main residency condition on all new properties.

"This will have a significant impact on the local area and I will be writing to all town and parish councils in North Cornwall who are doing their own Neighbourhood Development Plans to make them aware of the news.

"With this ruling, many other councils can insert similar conditions into their own plans to make sure that newly built houses do not become second homes."