Planners have granted listed building consent for upgrades to a property on St Martin’s.

But members at Tuesday’s Planning meeting complained about how late a thirty-page report on the application was received. It was added as an urgent item on the agenda and they were only given details as the meeting started.

The Duchy of Cornwall, who own Bleak House, a Grade II Listed building that is currently vacant, want to refurbish it by removing and repairing the timber windows and replacing an attached glasshouse.

The scheme had originally gone before councillors in July. Planning officers had recommended rejecting the scheme, although members went against that advice and approved it, subject to the chief planning officer negotiating with the Duchy for a reduction in the scale of the proposed changes.

English Heritage, the Ancient Monuments Society and the islands’ AONB had all urged “a more sensitive and conservative” approach to refurbishing the property.

Chief planner, Craig Dryden said his department had worked hard to come up with a compromise and felt the scheme was now approvable.

St Martin’s councillor Christine Savill was surprised that work had already started some weeks ago. But she supported approval, saying the house has been lying empty for over a year, and was deteriorating, especially over the damp winter.

It was better put to good use for the benefit of the community, she said.

But in response to several members’ criticism of the late arrival of the planning report, Craig said they only received the response from English Heritage a few days before.

To hit the eight week planning deadline, he said, they had no choice but to get it onto that meeting’s agenda.

Chris Savill said the sooner that the work is completed the better, as the site is a complete mess with all the recent rain.