News / Housing
Wrangle over lack of affordable homes in central Bristol development
A Government inspector will now decide whether a major scheme in the heart of Bristol for 120 flats should include just four affordable homes.
The city council’s development control committee approved the plans to build an 11-floor apartment block at the site in Temple Quay back in June.
But at the time councillors stipulated 23 of the flats, set to be built on the plot between Old Bread Street and Providence Place, should be rented at affordable rates.
is needed now More than ever
This was 19 more than developer Legal and General Property said was “viable”.
Now the developer has appealed the decision, putting the final say in the hands of the planning inspectorate.
A CGI drawing of the proposed development near Temple Meads (image from Legal & General planning application)
The company is also behind proposals for a mixed-use development on Temple Island – formerly earmarked as the site for the Bristol Arena.
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At a planning meeting on Wednesday the same committee was asked to decide whether it would have been “happy” to grant the application with just the four affordable units.
Essentially deciding whether or not the council should defend the appeal.
The majority of councillors agreed they would have refused the application with the reduced number of affordable homes.
The council will now move forward with the appeal process and defend its decision.
At the June meeting the committee agreed Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) should not have been included in the developer’s viability assessment.
The SDLT was estimated to be around £1.9million, which was calculated as an additional 19 affordable housing units – bringing the total up to 23.
The site, surrounded by hoardings. Image from Google
The committee’s reasons for not including it in the viability appraisal were based on the fact that the applicant had “no intention of selling the development upon completion” which meant SDLT would not be incurred.
And that Legal & General had not included SDLT in its viability appraisal for a neighbouring site.
But the developer has said it must include stamp duty in its assessment.
During a meeting, councillors expressed some concerns about being able to defend the decision at appeal.
But the committee was told by officers they would defend the appeal “robustly” as they did not feel the council had acted “unreasonably” when making its decision.
Committee members also expressed disappointment with Legal and General.
Harriet Bradley, a Labour councillor for Brislington West, said she was concerned letting the firm “get away with such a small amount” of affordable housing will “make them think they can do it again”.
And Stephen Clarke, a Green councillor for Southville, said: “I think this [23 homes] is a big enough amount of affordable housing, that even if our chances weren’t so good, it would be worth going for it.
“This is a big deal and it will set a precedent. I think we have to stick to our guns.”
Legal and General had said it wanted the scheme to offer “long, family-friendly leases and a service quality that’s currently lacking in the rented sector”.
Blueprints of the scheme show a block stretching from six to 11 storeys with a mix of 120 one, two and three-bed flats.
The ground floor will be used for shops, restaurants and bars, although it is currently unclear what businesses would move into the units.
At Wednesday’s meeting, a spokesman for the developer said the appeal was made “with a heavy heart”.
She added: “This is not just very important from a planning perspective but also for L&G from a portfolio perspective.”
Main image: two CGI images of the proposed development (from Legal & General planning application)
Kate Wilson is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
Read more: Council incentivising developers to increase affordable homes in Bristol
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