Wealden councillors to review housing plan. Legal deal unsigned; plan now deemed undeliverable after four years of delays.
The council looked at this in December 2020. They agreed if the developer met rules, requiring a legal deal called section 106. It would provide affordable homes, play areas, and transport upgrades.
But, the legal deal remains unsigned after four years. Officials now deem the plan “undeliverable” and suggest rejecting it formally. The council says the site could still be developed, but the developer won’t sign the s106 deal.
The land is not deliverable nine years after the start. Ecology reports are now outdated too, leading the council to suggest refusing the application.
The original developer, Millwood Designer Homes, closed, and a new company, Elvia Homes, is now listed. The company’s closure caused delays in signing the deal for different reasons from both sides.
The council thought a deal was ready last July, deeming it “acceptable to both parties.” Yet, the agreement was never signed, and the council heard nothing until recently.
The developer now worries about the deal, citing “viability problems” involving land contamination and dormice plans. Remediation is now supposedly more costly, though the developer offered no proof; they only mentioned it when asked about the deal’s stall.
Officials want a fresh submission that clearly updates things. Withdrawing the 2017 idea is the best move, but the developer hasn’t withdrawn the case, having stalled on the section 106 for seven months.
The plan helps with general and affordable housing, which strongly matters under planning rules. However, the unsigned legal deal suggests problems, indicating the land seems currently “undeliverable”.