Somercotes developer wants to scrap affordable homes and pay less for housing scheme

A developer’s claim that it is not financially viable to build affordable housing or make hundreds of thousands of pounds of local improvements has angered Derbyshire villagers. Hodgkinson Builders applied to Amber Valley Borough Council to withdraw commitments it made as part of planning permission for 34 houses off Cinder Road in Somercotes, on the former Black Horse Inn site.

Construction on the October 2022 approved site is well under way but the developer says it is no longer financially viable to provide affordable housing on the site or contribute more than £400,000 in improvements to schools and open spaces to offset the impact of the scheme. A borough council viability assessor has contested the builder’s claim and says the firm would still be able to provide 10 affordable homes on the site but significantly reduce its financial contributions to improvements to less than £200,000.

That halved contribution is due to be decided at a borough council meeting on Monday, December 2, with officers recommending approval. The developer had agreed to pay £265,069 for improvements at Swanwick Hall which would be reduced to £130,944; £60,377 for improvements at Cinder Road Recreation Ground which would be reduced to £29,826; and £75,358 towards biodiversity improvements would be reduced to £37,226.

A total of six objection letters have been submitted to the council over the plans, saying: "If the builder cannot economically build then they should not be allowed to.” “Far too many planning applications sign up to S106 agreements only to attempt to wriggle out of obligations at a later date. We are all facing increasing costs and inflation but average householders are unable to avoid obligations entered into previously.”

“Financial viability? What? How many times have we seen this happen? We need housing for local people who can afford them.”

“If it is not ‘financially viable’ to build the 34 ‘affordable’ homes planning permission was granted for, then build less – but there must still be ‘affordable housing’. Financial viability suggests the contractors will not make the level of profit they want but this should not be at the expense of those needing a home. This is meant to be part of the levelling up agenda. Reduce the number of ‘market’ houses they are permitted to make and either increase the ‘affordable’ ones or keep that number the same.”

“There are many open spaces and projects within the immediate vicinity of the build that could have benefitted or been enhanced by these funds. The local parish council could have more adequately identified local causes that could have benefitted from these funds. But more importantly having the ability to understand what the variation is would have been useful. Builders and the council have an obligation to offset the detrimental effects of building applications and not to downgrade the damage and disruption that is caused from housing developments.”

Borough council planners, recommending approval, wrote: “Whilst it is noted that the independent assessment of the scheme confirms that the development cannot unfortunately deliver the originally proposed contributions, a reasonable package of revised contributions will ensure that the scheme continues to be deliverable. The proposal would still represent a sustainable form of development, and the recommendation is to accept the revised package of developer contributions.”

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