THE developer which withdrew a bid to get out of paying nearly £350,000 in infrastructure contributions as part of a Bodmin development after a campaign led by Iliffe Newspapers Cornwall has confirmed its reasons for doing so.

Wain Homes South West had put in an application to Cornwall Council seeking to be excused from paying £348,748 in agreed Section 106 contributions as part of its development of 58 open market homes on land to the east of Pandarosa Farm on St Lawrence’s Road in Bodmin. It cited ‘unviability’ as the primary reason for doing so.

If it had been approved, it would have meant that the developer would not have been required to pay any contributions, leading to local outrage.

The Section 106 agreement between Cornwall Council and Wain Homes in March 2026 stated that the developer would be required to pay £158,053 for the provision of education facilities, £22,520 for health care facilities, £161,749 for the provision of transport facilities and a planning administration fee of £4,476.

After withdrawing the application, meaning that the Section 106 funding will proceed as agreed, the regional managing director for Wain Homes said that they had done so as they ‘take their commitments to local communities seriously’.

It is understood that the local reaction to the application was a factor in the decision made by Wain Homes.

Steve Goldsworthy, regional managing director of Wain Homes, said: "Following careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw our application. Our immediate focus is on progressing our plans under the existing planning consent. As a responsible housebuilder, we take our commitments to local communities seriously and are proud of the high-quality homes we deliver across the South West.”

After we originally broke the story and started our campaign on July 30, opposition to the application from residents and political figures quickly mounted - leading to the developer later withdrawing the application.

This was followed by local residents, including members of the Save Halgavor Moor campaign attending the meeting of Bodmin Town Council’s planning committee on August 4 where Bodmin Town Councillors added their weight to the objections.

After Bodmin Town Council had submitted its objection, Ben Maguire MP broke his silence on the matter on August 6, confirming he was opposed to the application, later speaking in Parliament on the matter on September 7 as part of his campaign to declare an infrastructure emergency.

Other notable campaigners who joined in the objections was the Cornwall branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE), who issued a lengthy objection on August 24.

In their lengthy objection, they stated: “If a developer can sign an agreement, begin building, and then apply a few months later to remove its contributions on viability grounds, the obligation is worth very little.

“Approval here would tell every developer in Cornwall that infrastructure contributions can be renegotiated away soon after consent. That would undermine the plan-led system and the Council's ability to secure infrastructure from development.

“This is a serious concern and a strong reason to refuse.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.