Completed new homes in a Cornish village have been boarded up and left empty after a planning stalemate, according to developers. Bridge View claimed council delays and abnormal costs have left it unable to deliver 33 homes in Calstock, including affordable housing.
Parish councillor Dorothy Kirk said it was 'a tragic situation where everybody loses'. A document published by Cornwall Council in January 2024 stated there were 160 households on the waiting list for homes in the parish.
One of the directors, Michael Wight, said his firm had allocated £2.8m for 15 affordable homes but claimed council delays then cost the firm £1.2m in interest. He accused the council of 'weaponising' legal planning agreements and 'strangling the business cash flow' by blocking the sale of completed homes.
The council said issues with the development had been 'ongoing for several years' and that it had 'done all in its power to work with the company'. Mr Wight said abnormal costs included building a second road, a more complicated drainage system and a large retaining wall, understood to have cost about £750,000.
In November 2023, affordable housing operators backed out after delays. The firm showed the BBC evidence that no new affordable housing operator wanted the homes, and as a result they could not fulfil planning conditions. The developers said the latest submission for amendments was submitted to the council in April 2023, but the planning department did not provide a response until January 2024, longer than the expected 13 weeks.
Cornwall Council said it was 'committed to working with developers' and 'must adhere' to planning policies. It said it was actively working to secure the delivery of the development and affordable housing.
