The 33 homes on the new-buiild estate in Cornwall, have been closed up and left. The development, it’s believed, could be handed over to the lender as stalemate continues between both parties
A brand new housing estate has been deserted as homes were boarded after a planning row.
Images show 33 homes have been left abandoned after the developer’s costs snowballed out of control. Local authority delays, it is claimed, resulted in the firm accumulating £1.2million in interest payments and can no longer afford to continue the work. Homes on the plot in Calstock, Cornwall, l have been closed up and left. The development, it’s believed, could be handed over to the lender.
Director Michael Wight accused Cornwall Council of “weaponising” legal agreements. He said officers had added additional requirements to the plans – like a second road and a £750,000 retaining wall.
Mr Wight said their budget had been “eroded” as a result of the additions. Cornwall Council said it is in discussions with the stakeholders involved and added that the issues with the development had been “ongoing for several years”.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “The council is committed to working with developers that have been granted planning permission to ensure that a housing development, and the agreed number of affordable housing homes, are delivered in line with the planning permission. Issues with this development have been ongoing for several years and the Council has done all in its power to work with the company however, we must adhere to local and national planning policy, including local neighbourhood plans.
“The Council remains in active discussions with stakeholders to find a solution to secure the delivery of the development, including the vital affordable housing element.”
Parish councillor, Dorothy Kirk, told the BBC it was “a tragic situation where everybody loses”. She added: “I hope somehow we can rescue it. We have to find a solution, end of. I don’t want Calstock to be deprived of homes, I don’t want to see the developer lose everything. It’s been a long, expensive and difficult journey. We have to have houses for local people.”
The Mirror reported earlier this year that a retired couple’s dream of a peaceful life in their idyllic bungalow was shattered by new-build homes towering over their back garden.
Maureen and Dave King, of Broad Oak, near Canterbury in Kent, say their views have been ‘ruined’ by the development. They thought they had found their forever home when they bought it nine years ago, surrounded by pretty fields and woods. But now the trees have been flattened and their peace has been shattered by the “eyesore” of two-and-a-half-storey homes overlooking their garden.
Former nurse Mrs King, 71, said: “When we bought this place, we thought when we left it would be in a box. It was our dream home – but that dream has been taken away from us.” Her 72-year-old husband, a former builder, says he is losing sleep due to the stress. He said: “Now we just want to get out. It’s ruined our garden – it’s ruined everything. I was given a hot tub as a gift, but I won’t use it now if people are looking into my garden.”