Just when it might, just might, have been possible for Salford City Council to reverse its scandal of letting developers off with having to provide affordable housing, the first planning meeting of the year since its 'refreshed' planning policy was passed sees the same old story.
Next Thursday, One Heritage Tower Limited will be applying to the Council's planning panel to build 545 apartments in massive blocks of 14 and 55 storeys on the corner of New Bridge Street in Greengate.
The applicant itself states that the site "falls within a 'high' value area where contributions for affordable housing will be sought at a 20% level".
However, as usual, the developer has shoved in a 'viability assessment' which shows that they cannot possibly support the "maximum contribution being requested by the City Council". And that's the end of any reference to affordable housing on the site, except a note to say that it is 'recommended' that a clawback agreement is put in place, so that if profits are huge, some money will be "directed towards the delivery of off-site affordable housing".
First off, the planning panel meeting actually has an agenda item about the 'Implications of the Refreshed Planning Obligations SPD' which quite clearly states that there is an "Expectation that viability appraisals submitted as part of the planning application process will be published"...The 'viability appraisal' submitted as part of this planning application has not been published.
Secondly, the Council's planning officer seems very pleased with themselves as they announce in their report that "The City Council has, however, successfully negotiated a contribution of £2,423,145, to be secured via a Section 106 agreement"...
The funds will be directed "towards the delivery of strategic pieces of public realm within Greengate, such as the Market Cross to the south of the site" the report states, adding that "The LPA [? Local Planning Authority? Local Profit Apologist?] considers the delivery of key pieces of public realm to be of priority here, as it would contribute towards achieving the strategic vision set out by the Council within its Greengate Regeneration Strategy exceptional public realm that creates a 'sense of place'..."
You what??? Pretty gardens over affordable housing? 'Public realm' a "priority" over local people? Absolutely shameful from a Labour Council that keeps banging on about an affordable housing crisis!
Away from the Section 106 scandal, local residents who live in nearby blocks such as GreenGate and Abito, are complaining about overdevelopment and the loss of daylight in their properties via this 55 storey tower.
The Council's answer? Even though many residents at GreenGate would suffer a loss in excess of 40%, they had too much daylight to start with! Or, in the Council's words, "the apartments affected receive much higher levels of daylight and sunlight than one might reasonably expect in a city centre location"!!!
Also on the bill for the planning meeting next week is an application for 394 dwellings crammed into blocks between five and nine storeys high on land bounded by Fairbrother Street, Ordsall Lane and the River Irwell in Ordsall.
This development originally got planning permission two years ago but the site has since been sold to ForHousing, or what used to be known as City West, the social housing company. No such social housing here!
The original application for 375 properties was approved before the 'refreshed' planning policy and only had to provide one affordable property because there were nine townhouses in the development. There was no requirement to provide affordable housing on the other 366 apartments, thanks to Salford City Council's previous rubbish policy.
Despite the application coming back to the planning panel with a further 19 properties, the development still only has to provide "One unit of affordable housing" according to the planning officer's report.
What is really strange here is that the planning panel agenda item, 'Implications of the Refreshed Planning Obligations SPD', goes through three developments recently given planning permission "that have been identified as potentially having to make increased contributions relating to affordable housing" due to the 'refreshed' policy (Norton Court, Greengate; 275-283 Chapel Street; and Adelphi Lads Club). Why not this one?
And why hasn't the Council's own 'refreshed' planning policy been activated for the ironically named One Heritage Tower in relation to either affordable housing provision or the transparency of the viability assessment?
These are questions that the Salford Star would love to ask but Salford Council refuses to answer any questions or provide comments to this publication...
Meanwhile, one affordable property from almost one thousand unaffordable properties going for planning permission next week speaks volumes.
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