A CLOVENFORDS councillor has welcomed the rejection of a proposal by house developer Barratt to reduce contributions due to help the village.
The application was unanimously rejected by the planning committee in private last week. The firm is considering an appeal.
Councillor Stuart Bell said he was “very pleased”, adding: “Any appeal against developer contributions should be made before a development starts. It is quite wrong for an application to be made after a development has commenced.”
A spokesman for Barratt East said: “Since Barratt agreed a financial contribution sum with the council back in 2007, our business, like many others, has been adversely impacted by the economic recession.
“Despite the prevailing financial difficulties, we have remained committed to the Clovenfords site and keeping local jobs on site. However, in light of these circumstances, we have been engaged in ongoing discussions for around nine months to modify our contribution agreement.”
It is understood that the contributions include £45,000 towards play-park improvements.