ONE of its last landlords went bankrupt and the pub was later demolished but the site of the Horse and Jockey is set to become a housing estate.

Greene King has applied to Fenland Council to build up to 21 homes on the Whittlesey Road site of the pub which closed in 1985 and was demolished 10 years later.

Greene King says it will pay �22,000 under a section 106 agreement for education and either provide or contribute to play areas.

However their application challenges one of the basic tenets of the council’s objectives in respect of affordable housing.

The council has always insisted on affordable housing on any development of 15 houses or more but Greene King believes recent Government policies “removes the national affordable housing threshold”.

The brewery says in a report to Fenland Council that “in the absence of any locally adopted planning policy requiring affordable housing, there is significant doubt to the justification for provision on this site at the present time.”

Elsewhere however in their report Greene King says a “negotiated number” of affordable units could be incorporated.

The brewery says Fenland has not enough land allocated for housing if it is to meet its declared intention of providing 550 new homes from 2011-2016.

They claim there is “significant underperformance” when set against the objectives especially since those policies also indicate the majority of new housing should be focused in March.

Greene King says the Horse and Jockey site is one previously identified as suitable for housing and unless the application is agreed “without delay” the council could fail to meet current and future housing needs.

A decision is expected by summer.