A showcase housing, commercial and leisure development east of Biggleswade, and a feature of Central Bedfordshire Council’s Local Plan, looks set to grind to a halt.
Outline permission was granted for up to 1,500 homes on the 263-acre site, while a separate approval changed the access to the land against the recommendation of planning officers.
Applicant UK Regeneration Limited asked for a reduction in developer contributions subsequently, causing the project to stall for now.
Its proposals include the housing and commercial development, 12.5 acres for a primary school, ten acres of other leisure and community facilities, and 150 acres of open space, allotments and a country park.
The second application, with alternative access arrangements, is set to return to the committee on Wednesday, August 3, recommended for refusal again.
It was approved in November 2019, subject to planning conditions and a Section 106 (legal) agreement, according to a report to councillors.
“The committee was explicit that securing S106 heads of terms at least equivalent to those secured by the first application was material in its decision-making,” said the report.
“Representatives of the applicant wrote to CBC seeking material changes to these heads of terms in June 2021.
“This related to education when compared with the obligations agreed when the first application was determined. The applicant also queried the justification for a wide range of other obligations agreed at that time.
“A report was presented to the committee in September to update members with respect to ongoing talks with the applicant relating to the legal agreement.
“The applicant sought that the terms of the agreement were changed materially from those approved under the first planning application.
“The committee resolved that officers should carry out reasonable discussion with the applicant to enable S106 heads of terms to be returned to the committee to be endorsed before a decision notice is issued by the local planning authority,” added the report.
“Officers have made multiple attempts to engage with the applicant’s representatives since that meeting, with no substantive response.
“With no indication engagement will start soon or at all, and with no completed legal agreement to mitigate the impacts of the development on infrastructure and to deliver affordable housing, the planning application should be refused.
“The applicant was invited to withdraw the application, but didn’t agree to this.”
UK Regeneration wanted to explore how CBC did calculations for healthcare, sustainable transport and leisure facilities, while seeking an £11.5m reduction in contributions towards new schools for Biggleswade.
In a social media post, Independent Biggleswade South Cllr Hayley Whitaker said: “Committee members could still agree to approve this permission regardless.
“But this would leave Biggleswade severely short-changed and fly in the face of many of the comments made by councillors at the September 2021 meeting.
“The initial planning application for this scheme has lapsed now. If the second one is refused, it would leave this site with no planning permission.
“As the principle of development has been established on this land, it seems only a matter of time before more plans are proposed.”
