Merton Council could soon plough £300,000 more into updating plans approved under its failed development company. 

The authority invested more than £2 million into Merantun Development Ltd which was wound down in January 2021.

In December 2021 Merton Council agreed to sell off the four sites with planning permission for a total of 93 flats.

These are Canons Place, Raleigh Gardens and Elm Nursery in Mitcham and Farm Road in Morden.

Now, the authority said £300,000 is needed to make these planning permissions meet current regulations.

The four proposals were given approval in 2020 but since then there have been policy changes.

A council report, set to be discussed at a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday (August 31), said this should speed up new homes being built on the sites.

The money will be used to get the design team back on board and consultants needed for the updates.

If the extra cash is approved, the new updated plans should be ready by March 2023.

The report said: “There is a desperate need to deliver affordable homes as quick as possible to respond to the housing crisis and cost of living crisis.

“Updating plans now would make the sites more marketable to housing associations or assist the council’s time scales should the council decide to deliver the sites directly.”

The report said an “options appraisal” for the four sites is currently being carried out which is set to be presented to cabinet later this year.

This could include selling off the sites with planning permission or delivering the plans “directly as the local authority”.

The council has a target of building more than 400 “genuinely affordable” homes on “surplus land” in the borough by 2026.

In December, Merton said after selling off the four sites with planning permission it had another five plots of land which have not yet been named.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 31 from 7.15pm at Merton Civic Centre in Morden.