Councillors Scrap ‘Absolutely Shocking’ Joint Venture

Posted by UK Property Forums on 4th November 2024 -

A joint venture partnership (JVP) between a council and a developer, described as ‘absolutely shocking’ for council tax payers has been terminated.

Members of the Royal Borough’s cabinet have agreed to end a deal between the authority and Countryside Properties for the development of 229 homes at York Road, Maidenhead with only the first phase of 146 of them built. The remaining 83 will not now go ahead.

Councillors at the LibDem-run council’s cabinet meeting on October 30 blamed the previous Conservative administration for the deal which, they said, left the council with the developer’s risks and has now cost the authority heavy fees.

The York Road scheme was in three phases. The first completed last year but the second, where 51 homes were due to be built on the former WRVS site and the third, where 32 were due to be built on the Grove Street car park and the site of the Maidenhead Heritage Centre, will not now go ahead, despite both having consent.

Terms of the deal have left the Royal Borough having to pay Countryside’s fees and overheads. The undisclosed sum is less than £500,000 which means the matter need not go to full council.

Cllr Richard Coe (LibDem), told the meeting: “I’m not astonished that we are drowning under these JVP deals.

“What we are saying is that both parties agreed not to proceed but all the risk lands with the council and the contract we’ve got.

“It’s just absolutely shocking that, effectively, the council tax payers in the Royal Borough are subsidising the risks of the developer. It’s absolutely shocking.”

Cllr Geoff Hill (independent) saw one positive. He said: “I was absolutely delighted when I read this paper – not by the outrageous fees the previous administration left us with by giving the developers literally a risk-free opportunity at the borough’s expense – that’s an absolute disgrace.

“But I think the town will be very happy to keep the two most popular car parks we have – the two most revenue-generating car parks – the ones that all the shoppers want.

“It’s just an unbelievable decision by the previous administration to wipe out two of our most profitable car parks in the borough, the ones that the residents love. So there’s a good side to the paper but having to pay the developer’s fees is quiet appalling and that rests with the previous administration.”

A report to the meeting said phase two has become unviable due to increased build and borrowing costs, notably to fire safety regarding changes to Building Regulations.

At phase three, the council was unable to secure vacant possession of the Maidenhead Heritage Centre and had chosen to prioritise income from the car park.

Further, as yet un-consented, developments in the JV at Reform Road, St Cloud Way and West Street car park for hundreds more homes will not now be progressed.

Imagae (Google) shows some of the completed phase one homes in York Road.