A dispute has erupted over escalating costs at a new housing development in Lancashire. The project, a joint venture with Pendle Council, has encountered numerous obstacles including contested highways advice, concerns about potential underground mine shafts and possible additional costs of up to £95,000.
Pendle Council is in disagreement with Lancashire County Council regarding county highways advice on the embankment at Further Clough Head, near Nelson. The borough owns the site and plans to develop new homes through one of their joint ventures - PEARL Together.
These issues were brought up at Pendle Council's most recent executive meeting. Senior councillors were initially asked in a report to agree an extra £95,500 from the council's capital budget towards completing the scheme - but were then presented with a lower estimate of £38,000.
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A report for the meeting stated: "Pendle Council obtained outline planning permission in 2017 for 200 houses at Further Clough Head. The scheme received reserved matters planning approval for the first phase of 98 houses and expected to start work during 2021-22.
"Following further investigation and design work, it became apparent that 200 units would not be viable on such an undulating site and with increased building costs. It is now anticipated that a reduced number of 129 properties will be developed with more open space. There will still be a minimum of 20 per cent affordable homes. The planned mix is 103 private and 26 affordable homes.", reports .
Pendle Council, buoyed by funding from 海角视频 Homes England, encountered several setbacks while constructing an access road, delayed by environmental and technical difficulties. Issues arose requiring the relocation of a badger sett and a series of boreholes to detect underlying historic mine works for potential remediation.
An initial array of boreholes unveiled a possible mineshaft 30 meters deep, demanding further exploration and mitigation to avoid any impact on the access road. In the event of discovering a mineshaft, it would become essential to carry out grouting and present a verification report or Lancashire County Council would not be able to adopt the road.
The embankment's steepness must also be reduced. Pendle's report highlights, "The original geo-technical engineer from Lancashire County Council who initially approved the design has left the county council. The new engineer is insistent that the embankment complies with highways design standards for the road to be adopted, despite the initial approval given previously.
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"The issue of fees paid to the county and supervision and guidance from highway engineers has been raised too. This formal query will determine whether there is eligibility for Pendle Council to recover extra costs with the access road. Once the road has been adopted, this will allow the transfer of the land to PEARL Together to start work in early 2025."
In September this year, one estimated cost of extra works was £65,925. Then came a revised estimate of £95,500.
However, if no mineshaft is identified, there would be a saving of around £50,000. Coun David Whipp expressed his concerns, which were echoed by others, suggesting that the county council should bear the full costs for the embankment works according to the council minutes.
Rose Rouse, Pendle's chief executive, has twice brought up the issue with the interim chief executive at Lancashire County Council. Pendle's executive has accepted an additional financial commitment from the capital budget towards completion of the scheme and continues to negotiate for the county to take on full responsibility for the embankment works' costs, currently projected at £38,000.
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