Middle East firm’s plan for 300 Caddington homes ‘highly misleading’

Rough plans to turn 56 acres of agricultural land in Caddington into homes have been blasted as ‘highly misleading and undeliverable’.
Land off Millfield Lane, Caddington, has been purchased by a company in the United Arab EmiratesLand off Millfield Lane, Caddington, has been purchased by a company in the United Arab Emirates
Land off Millfield Lane, Caddington, has been purchased by a company in the United Arab Emirates

Last week the News/Gazette revealed that the site, which lies off Millfield Lane, is under the ownership of United Arab Emirates-based firm Al-Qaddoumi Property Consultant Ltd.

It acquired the site for £750,000 in February 2014.

The company’s website contains a brochure which splits the land into 300 plots and boasts that the village “has experienced an amount of residential build in recent years and is also set to see some more imminently.”

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It also highlights the distance between the site and central London.

Despite the brochure and other literature advertising the Caddington site to potential buyers, Central Beds councillor Richard Stay has rubbished the plans.

Cllr Stay, who represents the village ward, told the Gazette: “(The brochure) is highly misleading and undeliverable.

“They are very ill advised in the investment.

“This site has been through many iterations of the local plan and there is zero chance of it becoming that (a 300 home development).

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“This is opportunistic and it does not have a cat in hell’s chance.”

The UAE firm’s owner Mohammed Waleed Al-Qaddoumi has previously clinched a deal with Barratt Homes to invest in a number of homes in Milton Keynes, which he called a “promising real estate area”.

Cllr Stay added that he remained unconcerned that the village had caught the eye of the foreign investor.

He said: “If you live there (UAE) Caddington looks like a suburb of London, but on a map we could say the same thing about Qatar.

“They obviously bought an option on the land...in my opinion they probably would have been better off putting the money in a box under the bed.”

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