Work on part of a sprawling ‘garden city’ development totalling 15,000 homes has been halted due to a small colony of endangered spiders.
Construction on a section of the Ebbsfleet Garden City project has been stopped after fears were raised about the protection of a population of “distinguished jumping spiders”.
It comes after Natural England designated part of the 2,500-acre brownfield land as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
This is an area designed to protect land or water considered particularly valuable for its wildlife, geology or landform features.
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) – the planning authority tasked with speeding up delivery of the homes – confirmed the decision.
Its chief executive, Ian Piper, told The Telegraph the environmental order will now lead to plans for an estimated 1,300 properties no longer going ahead.
Natural England insists the move is necessary to protect a population of rare “distinguished jumping spiders” from developers – who were given about £300 million of investment from then-Tory chancellor, George Osborne, in 2015 to kickstart the project.
Mr Piper – who took up the position as head of the EDC in 2017 – added the SSSI had “not affected delivery of the majority of new homes” at the garden city.
However, he admits the decision has now blocked construction on a parcel of land known as Ebbsfleet Central West, immediately next to Ebbsfleet International.
This is because it is an offence to carry out a listed operation without Natural England’s consent or to ignore the conditions of a consent during planning sagas.
Natural England’s Edel McGurk says wildlife must be a priority when it comes to housebuilding.
The public body’s regional director for the south east said: “Housing and nature are not competing interests – sustainable development and nature recovery must go hand in hand.
“We will continue to work with developers within Ebbsfleet Valley to explore innovative solutions to support the new development and help them comply with environmental law.
“We share the aim of supporting development in Ebbsfleet, while incorporating wildlife and enabling people to benefit from a nature reserve close to where they live and work.”
EDC has also been approached for a response regarding the decision.
Four years ago, it was reported the now-axed multi-billion-pound ‘Dartford Disneyland’ theme park could also have been stopped due to the jumping spiders’ presence on the Swanscombe Peninsula.
The project was officially scrapped in January after the company behind the London Resort project – London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) – were ordered into liquidation by a High Court judge.
In 2014, the government announced plans to create the new locally-led garden city at Ebbsfleet, capable of providing up to 15,000 new homes based mainly on brownfield and former quarry sites.
In February last year, the project saw its 4,000th home completed on the plot – which stretches from the River Thames to near Bean off the A2 – on what is also a former cement works bordering Bluewater Shopping Centre.
The remaining 11,000 homes are due to be built throughout the coming years ahead of the project’s completion in 2035.
Meanwhile, in November, it was confirmed work was set to get underway to deliver a new sports and leisure hub in the garden city after “vital” funding was secured.
Ebbsfleet Green, a new neighbourhood within the development, is set to benefit from a host of new shared facilities, including new sports pitches, tennis courts and a community hall.
The new community, between Swanscombe and Northfleet, features around 950 new homes which are being built by Redrow’s South East division.
Work started on the site in 2016 with the final homes due to be completed later this year.
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