Questions over 110-home development plus primary school for town
Gladman Developments wants to build about 110 homes off Beresford Road, Holt. Pictures: Gladman Land - Credit: Archant
Developers are trying to force a council into paying for a new school site as part of a 110-home development, a resident has claimed.
Gladman Developments is proposing a residential development of about 110 homes off Beresford Road, Holt. Pictures: Gladman Land - Credit: Archant
Cheshire-based developer Gladman Developments Ltd has submitted an updated viability assessment for plans for land off Beresford Road in Holt. The proposal also includes two hectares of safeguarded land for a primary school.
Richard Carter has objected to changes to a viability assessment by the developer.
Mr Carter said: "It is now very contentious, and shows that Gladman is trying to force North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) to pay for a new school site and associated costs of £3.6m, when Norfolk County Council and central government have the responsibility to pay for new schools."
In a letter sent to NNDC, Mr Carter said: "This proposal to link a planning application for 110 houses to a safeguarded school site is neither realistic nor practical, and stretches planning and local government guidance and regulations beyond reasonable limits.
"NNDC has granted planning permissions for over 450 houses in the Holt area in the last few years, and if this application is granted, the population would increase by a staggering 40pc. The net result of all these manipulation is to reduce the funding available to NNDC."
Paul Roberts, Gladman Developments Ltd project manager, said it was "not the case" that it was trying to force the council into paying for the site.
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He said: "We have responded to the council to clarify the situation over this. There are some issues including viability questions that need to be resolved.
"Our viability assessment was prepared by an external consultant, and will be reviewed by the council's external consultant. There's a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with this. But we hope the application will come before the council's planning committee in the next few months."
A public consultation was held on the plans in 2018. In 2015 the developer's bid to build 170 homes on the site was refused planning permission after a failed appeal. The council's development committee refused Gladman's application partly because it said the site was outside Holt's development boundary.
