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Council calls time on 115 homes plan for Wilburton that most villagers hated
Laragh Homes fail to meet extended deadlines
Broken promises by Laragh Homes will finally see their plans for 115 homes on 47 acres of arable land at Camp’s Field, south of Stretham Road, Wilburton, ditched. The company has failed to meet extended deadlines set by East Cambridgeshire District Council to deliver key documents, and planning chief Toni Hylton has put them on red alert that she will “finally dispose of the application” on April 26.
She reminded the company’s agents, Carter Jonas, that “in an e mail dated 21st February 2024 a timescale was set for the submission of the outstanding information.
“By the end of March an agreement was made that the delivery for outstanding reports with an agreement on the methodology; submission of viability assessment in discussion with Cambridgeshire County Council (March/April), TPA to respond to local highway authority by the end of March.
Campaigners from ‘Save Wilburton from Over Development’ created a number of campaign messages to enhance their case for an investigation into a proposed community housing scheme for their village.
“To date none of this information has been forthcoming.”
Mrs Hylton, planning team leader, reminded Carter Jonas the application has been outstanding on the council’s records since 20th March 2024, with the last agreed target date ending on 10th July 2023.
“I therefore intend to treat the application as ‘finally disposed of’ under Article 40 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (‘the Order’) to remove it from the Statutory Register of outstanding applications for planning permission.”
She reminds them that “the period for decision making in this case has now expired and no appeal has been made to the Secretary of State.
“Accordingly, after 26th April 2024, it is my intention to finally dispose of the application in accordance with Article 40(13) of the order and take no further action on it”.
David Morren, interim planning manager for East Cambs Council, confirmed in an email sent to Justin Bainton, a partner at Carter Jonas, on April 19 that “as we have not heard anything further from yourselves, we are commencing with the disposal of the application.
“The letter will be sent to yourselves on Monday morning should the application not be withdrawn due to the time which has passed and the non-compliance at the earliest stage with the agreed timetable”.
Although previous deadlines have been given to Laragh Homes, and their joint applicants Stretham & Wilburton Community Land Trust, the scheme as it stands looks dead and buried.
But four years of wrangling, and a spirited campaign by Facebook ‘Save Wilburton from Over Development’ who highlighted massive flaws, not least the claims of community support, planning consultant Gavin Taylor, on behalf of the council, offered the developers a final chance to respond to multiple queries.
Simon Somerville-Large, (left) managing director and founder of Laragh Homes with Charles Roberts, chair of Stretham and Wilburton CLT. Mr Roberts is a former leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council and former housing advisor to Mayor James Palmer
His letter of January 11 to the agents says they had failed to responded to emails of July 7th, 2023, and September 11th, 2023.
“The application has been outstanding on the council’s records since 20th March 2020, with the last agreed target date ending on 10th July 2023,” he told them.
“I therefore intend to treat the application as ‘finally disposed of’” and sets out the criteria which allows the council to make this move.
Many villagers opposed to this scheme – but not CLTs in general – believing the scale of private housing versus social housing for local people was akin to using a sledge hammer to crack a nut.
And it didn’t help pro CLT supporters that a survey in 2020 by the parish council showed that 75 per cent of those who responded were either opposed or strongly opposed to Camps Field.
“One 18 per cent of respondents supported the project,” argued the villagers. “There is simply no evidence of support for this proposal.”
Companies House records show only its founder, Simon Somerville-Large, remains a director of the company.
