Plans for 1,500 homes on farmland approved by council

A councillor said he was "disappointed" that only 20% of the homes would be available as affordable housing

Plans to build up to 1,500 homes on farmland have been approved by a council.

Huntingdonshire District Council's development committee granted outline planning permission to build Grange Farm at Alconbury Weald near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

The plans for the development include a "local centre" featuring shops, community facilities, play and open areas.

Labour's Sam Wakeford, a member of the coalition that runs the council, said he was "disappointed" that only 20% of the planned homes would be available as affordable housing.

'Unviable'

The council is run by a joint administration of HDC Independent, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors.

Tom Sanderson, from the HDC Independent Group, said the development should be supported, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Wakeford expressed regret that the site would not offer a 40% share of affordable housing, which the district council normally asks of developers.

His comments followed an assessment commissioned by the council, which concluded that making 40% of the 1,500 homes affordable housing would make the development “unviable”.

The development has therefore only proposed to make 20% of the homes available as affordable housing.

Mr Wakeford said he understood the viability assessment had been undertaken, but supported the plans for reviews in the future to see if more affordable housing could be possible as market conditions changed.

When a decision on the application was put to a vote the committee councillors unanimously agreed to approve the plans.