‘Keep to promise’, developer is told

A developer has been told to meet its promises to the community over a 70-home site in Long Sutton.

Stinders Homes was granted full planning permission for the land south and east of 36 Lime Walk in 2022 on the proviso 25 per cent (18) were built to be ‘affordable homes’.
However the developer had submitted an application to have no affordable homes whatsoever on the site.
It submitted an independent viability study claiming the site would not be viable with the current planning conditions which meet guidelines.
But the council’s own independent viability study refuted the claim.
It said it had ‘different assumptions’ on items such as plot costs, biodiversity net gain, professional fees and debit interests.
Therefore South Holland District Council’s head of planning Phil Norman refused the application.
Both Long Sutton Parish Council and district councillor David Wilkinson voiced objections to the application to not have affordable homes on the site.
In its statement the parish council said: “Developers continue with this practice on a regular basis and on almost all of sites in South Holland.
“This practice has to cease and any future development must be to the benefit not the detriment of the community.
“Developers agree S106 funding with every intention of reducing it.
“SHDC should look back over the last ten years at least to calculate how many affordable homes and funding has been lost by approving such amendments.”
Coun Wilkinson added: “If it was not viable it should not have formed part of the original application.
“It could be suggested that the developer only included the provision of S106 to obtain permission and then submit a modification to remove it at a later date?
“If the site is not viable with a S106 agreement in my opinion it should not go ahead.”
As well as the full quota of affordable homes, the Section 106 agreement relating to the site also includes providing £426,596 towards healthcare.