A Chatteris housing development will no longer include affordable housing
A proposed housing development on the edge of Chatteris will no longer include affordable homes or a play area.
Fenland District Council agreed to cut the requirements from the project due to concerns the project would be unviable otherwise.
Last year the authority approved outline plans to build up to 80 homes on land to the east of The Elms, with 20 per cent of the homes due to be made available as affordable housing.
The application also asked to remove the condition requiring a second car access to the development from the south, and to instead only provide a cycleway/footpath link
The land is owned by Fenland Futures Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the district council which aims to deliver new housing projects in the area.
However, a new application was submitted to the district council to remove the requirement to provide affordable housing.
It was also proposed to cut the plans for a play area, with a £67,000 contribution proposed instead to upgrade the play area at the Wenny Recreation Ground.
Councillor Ian Benney urged the planning committee to support the changes, as he said the development is needed to help resolve existing flooding issues for people living in The Elms.
Officers told councillors at a planning committee meeting this week (December 10) that an independent review of the viability assessment had confirmed the proposed development would be “unviable” even without the affordable housing and financial contributions.
They said: “On this basis officers accept removal of these obligations, whilst regrettable, is justified to ensure the site’s delivery.”
John Mason, representative of the developer, explained there had been a number of “key changes” that had led to the request to change the plans.
He said: “Firstly, the site is at risk of surface water flooding.
“The outline application included limited detail on how surface water could be safely managed without increasing flood risk elsewhere.
“On top of this, updates to the Environment Agency’s flood map to account for climate change now suggest that the site is more at risk than previously thought.
When a decision was put to a vote the committee agreed to approve the changes.
The district council is now expected to consider a detailed application for plans to build 54 homes at the site.