Member

Lutterworth East is one such example that should be informative for all hon. Members. It is a cautionary tale that we ought to have at the forefront of our minds when developers come to us making pledges. Lutterworth East was the development where 40% minimum was to be affordable housing. But what has the developer done, a mere two years after being given planning permission? That developer, without having to seek new planning permission, simply applied to amend the section 106 legal agreement—putting a gun to the head of the local planning authority, which had no choice other than to accept it for fear of losing housing for its targets—to reduce the 40% affordable housing not to 30% or to 20%; it sought 0% affordable housing. That was a disgraceful breach of trust. The local planning authority, whose local plan requires 40% minimum affordable homes, allowed a significant decrease. They settled on 10%, which means that, in the case of Lutterworth East, over 800 families will be denied an affordable house.