A HOUSING developer which said it was pulling out of Barnsley in response to its dispute with Barnsley Council about driveways says it will build further homes in the borough - but only if the council accepts its design for driveways.
Gleeson Homes has built hundreds of homes on numerous sites across Barnsley and has laid driveways largely of gravel, rather than a solid-bound material.
This breaches the conditions of its planning permission and the developer has lost five planning appeals against Barnsley Council in which it sought permission to continue laying gravel driveways.
The row intensified in December when the company told the Chronicle it would ‘not be building any more houses in Barnsley& ever’.
But this week a spokesman for the firm said it had resubmitted its planning application for the remaining land at its site at Lowfield Road, Bolton upon Dearne, and if granted planning permission for the development - including its revised drive specification - it will complete that site, and ‘review the situation regarding any other sites’.
However Barnsley Council has taken enforcement action against the company in an attempt to get the company to replace driveways it has already laid with a solid surface rather than gravel.
The council says the gravel surface places the onus on homeowners to carry out a high level of maintenance, and there is ‘clear evidence’ of gravel being dragged onto roads and pavements as well as evidence of weeds growing through the gravel.
Matt Gladstone, an executive director at Barnsley Council, said: “The council has served a number of breach of condition notices on Gleeson Homes. None of these notices have been complied with; however some notices have not yet expired.
“In addition to the enforcement notices, Gleeson have not fulfilled some of the legal obligations that they entered into when they signed Section 106 agreements to provides things like children’s play equipment.
“If the notices and/or agreements are not complied with, we will consider further action. We remain hopeful that this will not be necessary as it is very much a last resort.”
The Gleeson Homes spokesman responded: “In saying that we have not complied with section 106 agreements Barnsley Council are trying to portray us as being a business that does not fulfil its obligations. Nothing could be further from the truth, Section 106 agreements are legally binding agreements and if we had not fulfilled our obligations this is a matter of fact and they would have legal recourse.
“There are outstanding obligations which are triggered by certain other events and those trigger points have not yet arrived.
“We have submitted a perfectly acceptable alternative specification for the drives and this specification is recommended by the Environment Agency in a document published jointly by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and The Environment Agency titled Guidance on the Permeable Surfacing of Front Gardens.
“Incredibly this specification has been rejected by Barnsley Council. However we have resubmitted our planning application for the remaining land at Bolton on Dearne with the revised drive specification in the hope that Barnsley Council see sense.
“In the event that the council refuse our application, which now seems to be highly probable, we will be appealing to the Planning Inspectorate. All this is a tremendous waste of taxpayer’s money.
“The determination date for this planning application has gone but we believe that Barnsley are deliberately refusing to either approve or refuse the application because they don’t want to face up to this issue.
“In the meantime we are pleased to announce that we have been voted the most sustainable public business in the UK.”
