Plans to build 91 new homes on the edge of Soham have been refused after they were branded as “ill thought out”.
Developers were accused of trying to “cram” houses into the development site next to Soham Railway Station.
However, the developer H P (Soham) Ltd refuted the claim and said they were being forced to defend old plans when they had made changes to address the concerns raised.
The 91 new homes on land off Mereside would have included 63 houses and 23 flats, including 12 affordable homes. A new children’s play area was proposed.
Previous plans to build 31 homes on the site were approved in 2019.
Planning officers at East Cambridgeshire District Council recommended that development should be refused because the number of affordable homes was only 13 per cent of the total - a “significant shortfall” from what is expected in new developments.
They criticised an “under delivery” of open space and said it was of “poor quality”, while also highlighting internal highways safety concerns. They argued the design failed to deliver a “beautiful and sustainable development”.
A representative of the developer told councillors on a planning committee last Wednesday (5 June) that the application was first submitted back in 2020 and said multiple case officers at the council had “sought to shape the development in their contradictory ways”.
Further changes were put forward to address many of the concerns raised, he said, but these were not accepted by the council.
The representative said the developer was now working on a new outline application and asked for the current plans to be deferred.
Landowner Neil Pistol claimed they were being “forced” by the council to defend plans for a development they did not want to put forward as they had made changes to “address all the concerns raised”.
Cllr Chika Akinwale (Lib Dem, Ely North) questioned the developer on why there was a shortfall in the amount of affordable housing proposed.
Mr Pistol said the previously approved development included 13 per cent affordable housing, and they had followed that precedent.
Cllr Julia Huffer (Con, Fordham and Isleham) said the land was allocated in the Local Plan for up to 90 homes, but that did not mean the developer had to build that many.
She suggested they could build “60 high quality” homes, and be able to offer “decent affordable housing, open space, and decent roadways”.
Cllr Huffer accused the developer of thinking about “how many homes they can cram into one site”.
The representative refuted this, but noted there was a “large housing need” in the area and the number of homes would make “efficient use” of the site by the station.
Officers said the plans presented were the last formally submitted scheme consulted on and said the council did not technically have to keep accepting updates.
But they admitted there had not been a “perfect relationship” between the planning department and the developer.
Cllr James Lay (Con,Woodditton) said he had never seen an application come before the committee before with “so many areas” of concern raised by planning officers.
Cllr Huffer had rarely seen a “more ill thought-out” development, adding that the proposals were not sensitive to the area.
The committee voted to refuse the plans.
