More than 30 brand new properties have been left abandoned and boarded up after a developer blamed council delays for running out of money amid a planning row.
Some 33 new build homes on an estate in Calstock in Cornwall have been deserted after multi-million-pound costs spiralled out of control.
Construction Partners, who were behind the project, say they have faced £1.2million in extra interest payment charges while awaiting approval from Cornwall Council.
The firm based in Exmouth, Devon, now says it can no longer afford to continue the work – despite many of the properties being finished.
They include 15 homes allocated for affordable housing – though parish councillors have said many of the other homes, valued at between £500,000 and £800,000, are too costly for most locals.
New build homes have been left boarded up in Calstock, Cornwall, amid a planning row
Planning permission was first given in 2018 for 33 new homes including 15 affordable
The developer Construction Partners says it can no longer provide the affordable properties
The firm had initially allocated £2.8million for the affordable homes in the Bridge View area
Michael Wight, director of Construction Partners, has accused the local authority of ‘weaponising’ legal agreements over the new homes in the Bridge View area.
He said planning officers had added additional requirements to the scheme including a second road, a more complex draining system and a £750,000 retaining wall, which had ‘eroded’ his company’s budget for the estate.
He told of initially allocating £2.8million for the project, which was given planning permission in 2018, before facing the extra interest fees of £1.2million.
Mr Wight also suggested the local authority had blocked the sale of finished homes and that the affordable housing operators they were working with backed out last November over the ‘magnitude’ of potential maintenance to the large wall.
His fellow director Adele Fulner told the BBC it was a ‘complex situation’, adding: ‘I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out the way we want it to.
‘I feel like we could have fought harder to make it happen and for that I apologise.’
The family firm said it was ‘soul-destroying’ to put on hold the Calstock development which was their largest to date.
Calstock parish councillor Dorothy Kirk described the current plight of the estate as ‘a tragic situation where everybody loses’.
The housing estate has been left unfinished after a talks with Cornwall Council broke down
Parish councillors in Calstock have called it ‘a tragic situation where everybody loses’
Construction Partners director Michael Wight says they faced £1.2million in interest fees
He said planning officers had added additional requirements to the scheme including a second road, a more complex draining system and a £750,000 retaining wall
Construction Partners has described the lack of progress as ‘soul-destroying’
She added: ‘I hope somehow we can rescue it. We have to find a solution, end of.
‘I don’t want Calstock to be deprived of homes, I don’t want to see the developer lose everything.
‘It’s been a long, expensive and difficult journey. We have to have houses for local people.’
Fellow parish councillor Alistair Tinto has said: ‘The application would have brought 15 much-needed homes to Calstock.
‘What would be left is market houses which Calstock doesn’t need at prices around £500,000 to £800.000. That is not affordable. That price is way out of the pockets of the people.’
Construction Partners says it submitted an amended plan to Cornwall Council in April last year but did not receive a response until January.
Funding for the site expired last October and a lack of progress in negotiations since then meant the site has now been mothballed.
has approached the developer for further comment.
Cornwall Council insisted it was engaged in discussions with relevant stakeholders, while saying issues with the development had been ‘ongoing for several years’.
The developer says it submitted an amended plan to Cornwall Council in April last year but did not receive a response until January
An affordable housing provider pulled out of backing the project last November after realising the ‘magnitude’ of maintaining the new retaining wall requested, Mr Wight said
Cornwall Council has insisted it was engaged in discussions with relevant stakeholders, while saying issues with the development had been ‘ongoing for several years’
Funding for the site expired last October and negotiations held since have stalled
In a statement, a spokesperson said: ‘The council is committed to working with developers that have been granted planning permission to ensure that a housing development, and the agreed number of affordable housing homes, are delivered in line with the planning permission.
‘Issues with this development have been ongoing for several years and the Council has done all in its power to work with the company however, we must adhere to local and national planning policy, including local neighbourhood plans.
‘The council remains in active discussions with stakeholders to find a solution to secure the delivery of the development, including the vital affordable housing element.’
A council report last year revealed there were 160 households on a waiting list for homes in Calstock.