Hundreds of new homes approved without infrastructure support

Last night’s (Thursday’s) planning committee meeting gave the go-ahead for 70 properties at Lake Terrace and 298 on the former Jeld-Wen factory site off Snow Hill.

The applicants for both sites said it was unviable to pay the so-called Section 106 money towards local services such as education, roads and healthcare because of the cost of extensive work needed to prepare the land for development.

The Lake Terrace developer, GS Property Holdings, said it could not afford to pay any of the requested infrastructure payments, including £844k towards the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road (MMDR), £900k to local education and £48k to health services.

Applicants, Worthearly, also said it was unviable to pay Section 106 payments due to the cost of removing contamination from the Jeld-Wen site but it did agree to a compromise to pay £4M towards local education.

However, it was unable to pay the £197,000 requested by the local NHS board and the almost £3M needed by the county council to help pay for the town bypass.

Some members of the planning committee were angry about the lack of infrastructure support and they opposed both schemes, arguing they would be unsustainable without extra funding for schools and the Latham House Medical Practice.

During the debate on the Lake Terrace plan, Councillor Leigh Higgins told the meeting the application should be refused because the site was not earmarked in the Local Plan for development and that council policy required adequate Section 106 payments to be made by housebuilders, commenting: “The people in these new homes are entitled to have their children schooled in Melton and to be able to see a doctor.”

He also opposed the Jeld-Wen proposal, telling the committee he was ‘disgusted’ there was no contribution proposed for health services.

Councillor Higgins said: “I’ve waited 60 days to see my doctor, I’ve got residents waiting months to see theirs.

"We need to start making a stand over this because otherwise we are never going to get another surgery.”

His sentiments were echoed by Councillor Sharon Butcher, who told the meeting: “I’m sure the people who buy these homes will want to be able to see a doctor.

"It’s not just the residents who are already missing out. Somewhere along the line we need to make a stand for the doctors’ surgery.”

There was also plenty of support for both schemes, with councillors saying the houses were needed and that the Jeld-Wen plan would include green areas and provide a new attractive access to Melton Country Park.

Representatives for the Jeld-Wen application told the committee that the landowner had owned the site 30 years and was committed to a high quality housing development.

Roger Smith, of agent Savills, told councillors: “It is a very sustainable site on the edge of the town centre and close to Brownlow School and the country park.”

It will include a mix of flats and houses, with 91 one and two-bed properties with the remainder being three and four-bed.

The Lake Terrace scheme, which is the second phase of development, will have a focus on smaller homes.