Wiltshire Council warns Persimmon Homes start work or lose £8m

A developer has been warned it could lose £8m of government funds if it does not start building homes by spring.

In 2018, Persimmon Homes was contracted to make 2,500 homes, two primary schools and one secondary school at Ashton Park, near Trowbridge.

The company said it had asked to push back the deadline to the end of September due to market uncertainty.

But the request was turned down by Wiltshire Council's planning committee who said it would be "unfair".

The council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it had given the company a 31 March deadline because that is when the £8m government grant for the development expires.

Planning committee meeting chairman Howard Greenman said there have been three time scales "that have slipped now".

"The perception is that we feel that we've been held over a barrel by developers and Persimmon not least have been a little bit mischievous with us in the past," he said.

The council said it has been waiting for the developers to sign a section 106 agreement, but legal wrangling has led to stagnation.

A Section 106 agreement forces developers to make improvements in the local area, such as surrounding roads and creating a certain amount of public open space, to offset the pressures created by new housing.

This development is important in making sure the council can meet its five-year housing land supply.

If the five-year supply is not fulfilled it means the council has very little power to refuse planning applications in unsuitable areas.

This is because once a refused application goes to a government inspector for appeal, the inspector will very likely grant permission to make up housing numbers.

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