Meanwhile, while everyone’s attention is taken up with coronavirus, the planning application for yet another contentious ‘Community Land Trust’ in Wilburton has been lodged.
The application is for up to 115 dwellings, with a mere 35 (barely 30 per cent) ‘affordable’. Once again, this is no more than would be expected of a commercial developer building inside a village development envelope.
(A reminder of what the council’s own Local Plan says about this:
“Many community-led schemes are likely to be located outside development envelopes, where open market housing is not normally permitted. However, in certain circumstances it may be appropriate for an element of open market housing to be provided as part of a community-led scheme where the applicant can demonstrate through a financial appraisal that the inclusion of the open market housing is required to enable the delivery of affordable housing or other community assets, with significant benefits accruing directly to the community organisation through cross-subsidy. In addition, applicants will be expected to demonstrate that the community benefits of such a scheme (such as the level of affordable housing or open space) are significantly greater than would be delivered on an equivalent open market housing site.”
‘It may be appropriate for an element of open market housing to be provided’ sounds very different from nearly 70 per cent full price market housing, on this and most other ‘CLT’ sites.)
Once again too, the Combined Authority’s favourite developer Laragh Homes is involved. Laragh have been chosen for a number of such schemes, including projects in Stretham, Ely, and most recently Cambridge.
Two of the three endorsements on Laragh’s website are related to East Cambridgeshire CLTs – former East Cambs council leaders Mayor James Palmer and Charles Roberts.
Move along. Nothing to see here.
Thank you Lorna – whilst our (Tory) Ward Councillors still refuse to speak to the community they claim to represent (despite Lucy Frazer stating they are wrong with their rather pathetic excuses) – you have supported us. For this to be submitted on the day schools were closed and the country went into lock down is disgraceful, and shows the true nature of these faux-CLTs. How anyone can support them is beyond me (I support genuine CLTs, not the local variant) – yet those of us pushing for the truth to be told are being treated appallingly. They have shown their true colours now. Shame on them.
Precisely what they did in Kennett
Very underhanded they don’t care what people think.
Nice to know that as residents of the village concerned who clearly expressed their views in strong terms that the CLT took notice.
115 dwellings in a village with little in the way of jobs, infrastructure or public transport, meaning that those 115 properties each with a couple of vehicles making at least an outward and return journey, how do those 460 vehicle movements help with climate change, let alone the filth, inconvenience and disruption during the build. Well done CLT.
No doubt like other developers you will lie through your teeth that your traffic assessment will be something stupid like 10 journeys a day.