The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A developer hoping for permission to build 45 new homes in Weston has been told it will not have to pay towards education provision in the area.
Bourne-based Larkfleet Homes has applied to South Holland District Council for permission to build the estate at Small Drove.
When developers ask for permission to build a new estate It is usual for Lincolnshire County Council to ask for a contribution to cover extra school places (known as a S106 agreement).
Consultation documents on the district council’s planning website show that the county council originally asked Larkfleet for a contribution of £137,367.
However, new documentation added to the website last month shows that the county council made a mistake and the authority has confirmed that no contribution will be sought from the developer.
In an email to Mark Mann, Larkfleet’s planning director, Eleanor Spillane, of the county council’s corporate department, confirms that the council does not “feel that the development will have an impact that would require a developer contribution.”
In the same document she later confirms that she was wrong in her response to the district council regarding the S106 requirement.
She adds: “Weston should be considered in the Spalding area for secondary (schools), where there is capacity.
“I will formally retract my response to the district.”
The development will consist of 30 open market homes, 11 social rented homes and four intermediate homes (housing that falls between open market and social homes). There will also be parking for 128 cars.
The plans were unveiled at a public meeting in Weston in the summer and Larkfleet has offered to set up a £15,000 community fund for village projects.
Weston Parish Council has objected strongly to the application on a number of grounds including a lack of footpath, that the road is unsuitable for increased traffic, overdevelopment of the site and ill equipped local infrastructure.
A decision on the application is due to be made by January 20.
