THE developer behind plans for Hambleton district's largest housing estate has asked a council to consider lending it £5 million of public money after the cost of building a dual carriageway junction soared.

Executives of Broadacres, which owns 75 per cent of Sowerby Gateway developer Mulberry Homes, asked senior Hambleton District Council officers in August whether funds to help it build the A168 junction, south-west of Thirsk, would be available.

The informal approach came two years after the authority gave outline planning permission for 925 homes, a neighbourhood centre, an extra-care facility, a primary school and various community facilities and consent for work to start on 107 homes and commercial development providing it built the nearby junction.

It is understood the authority's leaders, who were pressing the developer for answers over why it had not fulfilled its obligation to build a four-way junction at the nearby A168 by September, were dumbfounded by the plea for funds.

Immediately rejecting the advance, the council said it could not lend money to any private developer.

Broadacres had previously assured the authority the junction would be completed by March.

Council officers were told the delay related to a rise in the cost of the junction, which had risen from the £2.3 million Mulberry Homes had budgeted for, to about £7.5 million.

The rise in cost was partly due to the Highways Agency increasing the length of a slip road, which led to the developer having to buy additional land.

The council was told the developer wanted more time to build the junction and also might want the council to reconsider a key element of the scheme – that 40 per cent of the estate would be affordable housing.

Councillor Mark Robson, leader of the council, which hopes the estate will help meet housebuilding and affordable housing targets, was angered by the update from Broadaces, which states on its website that its values include to “keep promises and commitments”.

He said: "I am more than displeased. They got permission for something and they are going back on their word."

Cllr Robson also questioned whether Mulberry Homes would seek to reduce the proportion of affordable housing in later stages of the estate, highlighting that its majority owner, Broadacres, was the main provider of such housing in the district.

He said: "I will fight anything less than 40 per cent."

Cllr Robson said he wanted to meet the developer to find out when work on the junction would start.

Joe Salmon, of campaign group Stuff, which opposed the location and scale of the development, said: "Having approved the scheme against considerable opposition by my group and others, the one thing we were adamant about was that HDC had to ensure that adequate traffic management arrangements were in place."

A Mulberry Homes spokesman said it had made "an initial inquiry" about a loan from the council and that the scheme would bring economic and social benefits to the area.

He stressed the junction issues would have no effect on the building of the homes and other infrastructure related to the development.

He added there had been no discussions over the affordable housing element of the scheme and that the 40 per cent of affordable housing in the first phase was "much higher than most new developments of this kind".

He said: "We do not believe the junction is currently needed. However, as part of our ongoing discussions with the council, we are currently carrying out an updated traffic assessment and the results of this will be available and published very shortly.

"Income from the sale of the properties will cover the cost of the required junction works and other infrastructure requirements, but we are only in the first phase of a large-scale development."