East Suffolk Council has recovered more than £750,000 following a long legal dispute with a housing developer over an unpaid planning contribution.
The outstanding debt included significant interest accrued since the developer stopped paying a legally binding local land charge which should have been available to fund key infrastructure improvements in the area.
East Suffolk Council imposed the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) as a condition of planning permission for the 54-home Melton Meadows development in August 2019.
However, the developer behind the project settled only the first of three instalments, leaving more than £584,000 unpaid from a total of more than £871,000, while leaving the local community short of funding for vital improvements needed to support local population growth.
Melton Meadows Properties Limited and the company’s director, George Braithwaite, instead denied liability and launched a legal challenge, which was thrown out in 2021 by a High Court judgement, upheld a year later by the Court of Appeal.
When Mr Braithwaite then transferred the land to different company, Pigeon (Aldeburgh) Ltd, East Suffolk Council launched further legal action to recover the debt by forcing the sale of property he still owned on the development, while successfully challenging his application to dissolve Meadows Properties Ltd.
Mr Braithwaite responded by claiming that East Suffolk Council’s scrutiny of land contamination risks on the former factory site had led to a delay in the sale of properties, causing substantial financial losses. However, the council’s enquiries had been a necessary result of the developer breaching planning conditions by failing to submit proper assessments before allowing homes to be occupied.
On 7 July, midway through the latest legal proceedings at Cambridge County Court, the outstanding CIL funds were settled in full.
Cllr Mark Packard, East Suffolk Council cabinet member for Planning and Coastal Management, said:
“We are pleased to have brought this long-running dispute to a conclusion and secured the funding that was always intended to benefit local communities.
“Our officers have shown great determination and professionalism throughout what has been a complex and lengthy case. Their hard work has ensured that the council was able to recover these funds and protect the public interest.
“The settlement means we can now release the 25% share of CIL funding owed to Melton Parish Council, while the remainder will be invested through our wider CIL programme to help deliver the infrastructure needed to support local residents and future growth.”