Developers hoping to build 800 homes in Herne have come under fire from council planners who say the cost to taxpayers of dealing with the application has risen to £130,000.

Hollamby Estates first submitted its ambitious proposal for Strode Farm in 2014, but concerns raised by the council over affordable housing and road improvements stalled the project.

After the deadline passed for the authority to put the scheme before its own planning committee, Hollamby took the chance to appeal to the independent Planning Inspectorate in December 2016, using the “non-determination” rule.

But it did not get the result it wanted, with the inspector handing the case to the Secretary of State for housing, Sajid Javid, recommending he refuse it.

Mr Javid, however, has now given Hollamby six weeks to resolve issues with the application – which the city council says are those it raised initially.

In particular, the developer must agree to complete a new spine road through the development by the time the 410th home has been built and ensure the scheme meets the council’s requirement to provide 30% affordable housing.

Mr Javid did add, however, that the site had in its favour the fact it is included in the Local Plan and will therefore “make a significant contribution to the district’s housing supply”.

If the issues are addressed to the satisfaction of the council and Secretary of State, Mr Javid says he will proceed to a final decision as soon as possible.

If agreement is not reached, Mr Javid will continue to consider the appeal and make a decision in due course.

The city council’s head of planning, Simon Thomas, said: “Strode Farm has been a frustrating process, but we are pleased the government has now fully backed us by reinforcing our position on the significance of the road improvements and affordable housing.

“This sends out a very strong message that when communities agree to development in their area, they expect developers to hold to their side of the bargain, and that local affordable housing and investment in roads, schools and other infrastructure is delivered.

“We are, however, conscious that we have had to spend an estimated £130,000 of taxpayers’ money dealing with this case, at a time when budgets are very limited, only to end up right back where we were months and months ago.

“Had Hollamby Estates decided to continue discussions with us rather than going for non-determination, all of this time and cost could have been avoided.

“That said, we are where we are, and we’ll now work with the developer to try and get this project over the line. It is one of the key housing development sites in our Local Plan, providing much-needed homes for local families, and we’re keen to start seeing a few bricks being laid.”

Typically, 30% of homes in new developments have to be affordable, of which 70% are allocated for renting and the rest made available to buy under shared ownership schemes.

However, Hollamby decided, after consulting with housing association Orbit Group, that it would be more financially viable to reverse that split.

Chris Crook, the development manager of Hollamby Estates, said: “There are also some comments about the quantum, which we haven’t quite got to the bottom of yet – but it’s unequivocal, there will be 30% affordable housing.

“We are extremely flexible on this point because the truth of the matter is until the scheme is at the stage where it’s ready to deliver housing, we won’t know how the market is for affordable housing from the major providers and that is at least two years away.

“It is probably the best thing to do to agree to what is being sought of us and then see how the situation is at the time it’s got to be delivered.”

Hollamby had proposed to complete a new spine road by the time the 500th home had been built, but must now agree to construct it after the 410th.

According to Mr Crook, both of the Secretary of State’s stipulations have hurt the site’s commercial viability.

He is aiming to submit Hollamby’s revised proposals within the next 10 days.