ST CLEER residents have launched a petition against a planning application to keep hunting hounds nearby.

The East Cornwall Hunt has applied to Cornwall Council for a Certificate of Lawfulness for the use of hunt kennels at Higher Gimble in the village of Commonmoor.

Applicant Roger Young said the retrospective application had been made at the request of planning officials.

Some Commonmoor residents say they fear the whole pack of 200 hounds will be moved in. Around 70 signatures have been collected.

One signatory, Clive Fowley, said: "There are lots of issues, including dog-fouling contaminating the water, but the biggest concern is the noise. Life will be an absolute misery for everyone in the area if 50 hounds are placed here.

"Commonmoor is a thriving village; the area is a holiday area and tourists won't want to visit if this happens.

"The dogs are currently about three miles away and we can hear them already.

If they come here, I think on a still night you would hear them in Liskeard."

Caroline Ridsale added: "I live in a neighbouring property and didn't receive anything from the council to inform me of this application."

St Cleer Parish Council has supported the application.

Mr Young, honorary secretary of the hunt, said hounds had been kept in the village since before planning regulations came into force.

"In the past 15 years, every so often there is a complaint that there is no planning permission," he said.

"The planning officer asked us to apply for a certificate of lawful use just to clear things up. Hounds have been kept there since 1933.

"At the moment it's used for quarantine of young hounds. It will carry on as it has been used over the years. There are no immediate plans to move the whole pack there."

A decision is due this week.