THE Axminster Masterplan, which included the relief road and 850 homes, has been put at risk following a funding u-turn by government.

East Devon District Council has reacted with dismay to news that government agency Homes England has changed how it is assessing the council’s £10million bid for the Axminster relief road.

The council bid for a non-repayable grant in 2017. This was accepted in February 2018 to be used to help fund the delivery of the new relief road and associated homes, employment land and community facilities set out in the Axminster Masterplan.

The council has now been told by Homes England that a new condition of the funding is that the money must be repaid by the development.

Council leader, Cllr Ian Thomas, is concerned that the decision puts the Axminster Masterplan in jeopardy.

He said: “We are dismayed by this fundamental change of mind. It throws the whole Axminster scheme up in the air and means that the effort we and our partners have put into this crucial scheme over the last 12 months may have been completely wasted.

“Since I was first elected leader, I have been absolutely consistent that we don’t simply build homes, we build sustainable communities. The Axminster Masterplan is an excellent example of such a community.

“It would bring enormous social and economic benefit to Axminster by delivering high-quality, affordable housing and employment land, together with other essential community facilities.

“After this decision from Homes England, it feels like we are back to square one. It’s bitterly disappointing.

“Our council is now considering its options. This includes taking legal advice to investigate whether we may have strong grounds to challenge Homes England’s decision.

The masterplan was endorsed by the council’s strategic planning committee in January and was based in the money from Homes England not being repaid. Even then the development could only be made viable by expanding the site area and increasing the number of homes proposed to around 850 and the amount of affordable housing reduced from 50 per cent to 25 per cent.

The council must also consider revisiting the masterplan to understand the consequences of the decision to make the development viable again.

A spokesperson for Homes England said: “We cannot comment on individual housing infrastructure fund cases where funding terms are yet to be confirmed with the local authority.”