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01
Oct
‘Unethical’ and 'embarrassing': Brierley Homes under fire for missing Kirkby Malzeard payment
A six-figure payment from 'unethical' Brierley Homes for community facilities in Kirkby Malzeard “remains at risk”, councillors have said.
Brierley Homes, which is owned by North Yorkshire Council, was granted planning permission for the 33-house Laverton Oaks development in Kirkby Malzeard on the condition that it contributed £131,000 towards sports facilities, community areas and the village hall.
But the council said it was no longer viable for its loss-making housebuilding company to pay the full amount and it planned to submit a planning application to amend the contribution, which is known as a 'commuted sum’.
Brierley Homes, which is being propped up by a £27 million loan, is expected to lose £5.8 million in the current financial year.
In August, a spokesperson for Brierley Homes confirmed to the Stray Ferret that it would honour the payment to the parish following backlash from local residents, who raised a 500-signature petition calling on the company to pay the sum in full.
Laverton Oaks in Kirkby Malzeard.
However, at North Yorkshire Council's Skipton and Ripon area constituency committee today (October 1), Cllr Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, Liberal Democrat councillor for Masham and Fountains division, warned that the agreement was far from secure.
She pointed out that the company was still in disagreement with the council over its affordable housing commitment — despite an independent valuation finding that it should provide 13 homes at Laverton Oaks.
Cllr Cunliffe-Lister added Brierley Homes had been in planning breach at the site “for years” and the commuted sums for the parish council were still “at risk”.
She said:
I think Kirkby Malzeard is still at risk today of the [affordable] homes not being built and still at risk today of the section 106 commuted sums not being paid.
Brierley Homes have a track record here of being in breach.
She added:
I think it is really, really unacceptable that a company that is owned and operated by the council puts a planning officer or a planning enforcement officer in this position. There is so much conflict or potential risk here of North Yorkshire Council not being seen to do the right thing and not being seen to be conducting itself properly. We ought to be taking steps today to set this right.
Cllr Lunliffe-Lister called on the council’s executive to honour obligations at Kirkby Malzeard and ensure that Brierley Homes honour them.
‘Unethical’
Meanwhile, Cllr Andrew Williams, a member of the Conservative and Independents group who represents Ripon Minster and Moorside, said the company should be conducting itself in an “ethical manner”.
He said the matter should be referred to the council’s shareholder committee, which oversees council-owned companies including Brierley Homes.
Cllr Williams said:
I do think that the conduct of the company should be raised with the shareholder committee because, frankly, a company which is wholly owned by this authority should be conducting itself in an appropriate and ethical manner.
It shouldn’t end up with a situation where members of the public are bringing petitions asking for them to meet obligations which we would reasonably expect any private developer to have met. That is an embarrassment to the council and I believe as shareholders in that business, the shareholders ought to express an opinion to the management of the company for the conduct in which they have acted in this manner.
Councillor Simon Myers. Photo: Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
But Cllr Simon Myers, Conservative executive member for culture, arts and housing on the council, told the committee that there was no suggestion that Brierley Homes was “unethical” and claimed writing to the shareholder committee would amount to “virtue signalling”.
He said:
It is not because I’m unsympathetic [to the residents], but it’s because I believe that the planning officers will see that the right result comes out of this. North Yorkshire Council will not allow Brierley Homes to default on its obligations, the shareholders will see to that.
It’s nice to whip up a bit of fear and say ‘oh, well they’re a bit risky, aren’t they?’ They’re not risky because they’re backed by North Yorkshire Council which thanks to the administration by the Conservatives over the last 20 years has very considerable reserves.
Brierley Homes was established in 2017 to make money to fund council services.
But it is currently propped up by a £27 million taxpayer loan and expected to post a £5.8 million loss this financial year.
The company has been criticised on multiple occasions by councillors for being reliant on council loans to help its cashflow issues.
Laverton Oaks site is among its current developments.
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