A report to Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet says that the council is not able to accept a grant towards the cost of the Southern leg of the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road. That is because it has not been possible for the county council to reach agreement with Melton Borough Council about the financial risk.
The road, costing £35m, would facilitate the development of the Melton South Sustainable Neighbourhood, which would need new schools costing a further £35m. The grant for the road was £15m, so £55m would have to be found by the county council.
For the road, the county council was prepared to take the financial risk in building it and securing contributions from developers.
For the schools, the county council had asked Melton Borough Council as the Local Planning Authority to ensure that the funding requests made of developers did not leave the county council out of pocket. It was not possible to get an agreement with Melton Borough Council.
Put simply, there is too great a financial risk to the county council if the £15m HIF grant were to be accepted.
On top of the £55m, another significant contribution is required for the northern and eastern legs, plus a further £22m for schools. It’s clear that the county council’s budget is becoming increasingly stretched.
We’re committed to economic growth and building strong communities – but there is a finite amount of money for the whole county and we have to be fair.
Leicestershire is growing and demands for infrastructure across all districts will rachet up this financial pressure – taking the risk to such a level it compromises our ability to invest in other parts of the county.
Person:Council leader, Nick Rushton
The report will be discussed by the county council’s cabinet on 22 June – watch the meeting online
- Homes England has offered the county council £15m of Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) money for the southern leg of Melton Mowbray Distributor Road.
- Costs for the southern leg - and the education costs connected to the new homes required - total £70m. Even after the HIF money, the county council would be required to forward fund at risk £55m in advance of developer contributions being received.