South Kesteven District Council asks Government for £2.8 million grant for St Martin’s Park development in Barnack Road, Stamford
A council is asking the Government for a £2.8million lifeline to clean up a former factory site so that a sale can be agreed.
Five years after buying the land off Barnack Road in Stamford, South Kesteven District Council has not laid a single brick towards the promised development of 190 flats and houses, a 150-home retirement village, and business premises supporting more than 500 jobs.
The council spent £7.5 million in March 2019 acquiring the site and signed a deal with Burghley Estates, which owns neighbouring land, as part of plans to create a 14.7-hectare development to be known as St Martin’s Park. It was revealed earlier this year the council overpaid with the site valued at £6.2 million.
A further £1.5 million was spent to clear it of former Cummins and Newage factory buildings during 2022, and it is costing the council £14,000 a month to retain the electricity supply ready for homes and businesses at St Martin’s Park.
All that has been left standing is the 1904 Building and the adjoining offices, which protect it from collapse. However, permission has been won to knock down all the buildings.
In February councillors heard behind closed doors the financial truth about the project, and the redevelopment was thrown into doubt.
The council has now agreed on a price to sell the site for, although it has not made public that detail or who the buyer is.
A document, which is set to go before the finance and economic scrutiny committee on Wednesday next week (May 8), says: “Developers are committed to the development and working towards an exchange of contracts on this basis.”
An application for £2.8 million of funding through the Government’s Brownfield Land Release Fund has been made by the council to cover costs for the clean up of the site.
There are three piles of crushed material from the demolition which require moving from the site before the site can be sold.
The council will find out if it has received the funding by the summer.