Final phase of Little Stanion housing development remains uncertain after council defers key decision

The final phase of the Little Stanion housing development remains uncertain after North Northamptonshire Council deferred a decision over whether to allow the developer to waive a £2m payment.

At a meeting on Wednesday, October 4, the authority heard from JME Developments who have asked to amend the planning agreements and remove their obligation to pay £11,000 for every home they sold back into the public purse.

They have also asked to scrap “the Little Stanion up-lift sum” which would contribute 34 per cent of the additional house sale profits back into the community – primarily towards the costs of the primary school.

The estate, which has been under construction for over a decade, is still yet to start its final phase of development near Corby. It will see another 99 houses and the village hall being completed.

James Moore, managing director at JME, said that factors such as “increases in building costs, funding costs” and “mortgage rates which have impacted sales” are behind delays with the construction and finance issues. He asked for the committee to support the amendments to the application to “return the development to a viable position” and ensure the delivery of the community building.

The village hall was supposed to be completed after planning permission was approved in 2018, but developers say that they are looking to finish the site by 2028. That is nearly eight years after the intended construction completion date.

JME were agreeable to the provision of a requested £1.2m bond to be put in place after the two-year period, in the event that the village hall had still not been completed.

Cllr Chris Horsman, of Little Stanion Parish Council, told the meeting: “How would you feel if you’d been waiting for five years for something ultra special and today is the day when the decision is made to settle this JME created fiasco? That’s how the residents of Little Stanion feel today. We’re dying to hear if our dream is about to come true and that you will back us.

“We have been given too many untruths, excuses and unfulfilled promises. We think it’s high time JME honoured their obligations, no more ifs, no more buts, no more amendments to plans, and no more threats not to build.”

JME developments previously asked Corby Borough Council to scrap the costs to the public purse in 2020. However, the former Northants County Council made an objection to the proposal. This was after a viability assessment carried out in 2019 found that the project was unviable when including the roof tax payments.

A council solicitor at the meeting said: “The reality of some of those elements is that it simply won’t stack up in terms of viability for a project like this going forward and to completion.”

He said that in 2006, when the planning application was first agreed upon, the council were “obsessed” with roof tax. He added that £11,000 was “weirdly quite reasonable”.

After a discussion councillors felt that there was more to be considered before approval, including the potential of shortening the bond period for construction of the village hall to start within six to nine months. The council voted to defer the decision to consider the matter further.