HOUSE builder Miller Homes has pulled out of the 1,000-home Pan project, putting the scheme in jeopardy, the County Press can exclusively reveal.
Last year, the Isle of Wight Council agreed to strike a deal with developer Miller Homes to build more than 1,000 energy-efficient houses on the huge new Pan site, with around 240 earmarked for affordable housing.
It is understood Miller Homes has now stepped back from the project.
Cllr Geoff Lumley, the local ward member, said the implications for Pan could be huge.
"There was a commitment for £1 million for community projects in Newport East, primarily Pan and, on a wider scale £3 million, towards highway infrastructure in Newport," he said.
"I represent lots of young people who are living with mum and dad, with kids who would like the opportunity to get on the housing ladder and this scheme provided much-needed affordable housing.
"I have no doubt that it will go ahead at some point but I bet the terms will be different to those agreed last year."
Cllr Lumley said he only discovered the news after reading the minutes of a Medina Housing Association board meeting, on which he sits as one of two council representatives.
The Isle of Wight Council and Spectrum Housing Group, the parent organisation of Medina Housing, will now be making their own bid for detailed planning consent for the Pan development.
The priority for central government and the Homes and Communities Agencies (HCA) is to support projects which have planning consent and can deliver homes at the earliest opportunity.
It is understood the Pan project is viewed by the HCA as a priority scheme, not only for the affordable housing but for its much wider regeneration opportunities.
The council and its partners will be bidding for 'Kick-Start’ government funding designed to provide support to the house building industry.
Reporter:
martinn@iwcpmail.co.uk