WILTSHIRE Council will no longer receive £50,000 from a developer to spend on ecological works on land near Lime Kiln Way, Harnham, after a planning inspector ruled the funding was unnecessary.
The council had requested the contribution to carry out the work as part of a Section 106 agreement with the developers behind the McDonald’s drive-through and hotel in Southampton Road.
But planning inspector Michael Boniface who granted the development planning permission last week dismissed the funding request.
In a report publishing his decision, he said: “It is far from clear how a contribution of £50,000 to an entirely separate site with entirely different habitat is a proportionate response to this loss.”
He said that due to the developer’s suggestion of being able to mitigate and enhance the “limited ecological value” on site through replacement planting there, and the council’s relevant planning conditions, the funding was unnecessary.
The land near Lime Kiln Way is owned by Wiltshire Council and the city council.
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