Developers are claiming they can no longer afford to build social housing in an unfinished housing estate in Great Dunmow, and have cut the number of homes.

Wickford Development Company Limited has been given permission by Uttlesford District Council to reduce the number of affordable homes in its planned estate in Woodlands Park, Great Dunmow, from 50 to 28.

Planning permission was granted for a 125 home scheme by the council in 2013, including 40 per cent affordable housing.

Now the number of homes overall will be reduced to 118, only 28 of which will be affordable and grouped in a cluster to the west of the site.

The council’s planning committee met this morning (February 22) to vote on the revised plans, which also include selling the land previously required for affordable housing for £1 to a registered provider and providing an off-site contribution of £46,000.

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Councillor Janice Loughlin (Lib Dem and Green Alliance, Stort Valley) said: "The developer is finding it’s not going to be financially viable, is it not also going to be financially viable for the housing association, or whoever will build these?

"Because they are going to be suffering from the same financial pressures as the developer and £46,000 to me doesn’t seem to go very far."

Councillor Geoff Bagnall (Residents for Uttlesford, Takeley) said: "It strikes me that the viability assessment should have been conducted on the portion of land that’s going to be built out, rather than rather than sold off."

A clause prevents more than 65 market-rate houses from being occupied until the land for affordable housing has been transferred over.

The committee also decided to add a condition that should the application become blocked, if 65 homes have been occupied but the land has not been transferred, the applicant will have to redo its viability assessment.

In addition to approving the deed of variation allowing the number of affordable homes to be reduced, the committee approved a full planning application for 23 market-rate and five affordable houses in the site, replacing some of the extant planning permissions.