Council denies land ownership is holding back Kevin McCloud scheme

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

Swindon Borough Council has denied reports that the ownership of a small strip of land is holding back a 241-home scheme being designed by architect Kevin McCloud.

HabOakus, a joint venture between McCloud's company Hab and GreenSquare housing association, is planning to build the homes on land at Pickards Field in Gorse Hill.

However, according to the BBC, McCloud's plans have been delayed because a small strip of land has to be acquired by the council to enable access to the homes.

A campaigner told the BBC: "This is a privately owned piece of land, it's 12 metres by about 37 metres long that the council want to adopt as a public highway.

"There is a covenant on this land which dates back to 1937 which says that all persons on foot, on bicycle, with or without animals, and motor vehicles have the right of way across the whole width.

"So this cannot be divided up into a pedestrian, cycle route or motor route."

A spokesperson for the council said that the development and the land offering access to a potential housing site were two different issues.

He said HabOakus had not even submitted a planning application for the development and that  consultations were being planned on the future of the site.

He said: "Some land required to form part of the access to the site - if it's developed - is something we have put public notices on to tell people we're planning to adopt the land as the highways authority as it has been used by the public as a highway."

The council said it has made attempts to find the owner of the land but was confident of legally adopting it because it's been maintaining it for years.

The spokesperson added: "People against the scheme have attempted in the past to try and suggest there are covenants on the land around the scheme or designate it as village green status. We haven't found any reasons to back that up. We're not aware of a covenant on this land."