Affordable homes face axe from new housing scheme in Warsash
A developer says it cannot find anyone to run social housing in a new estate it is planning to build - so wants to scrap the affordable homes
Five affordable homes could be removed from a planned new estate under proposals going before councillors next week.
The homes were due to form part of a 14-property development on land between 75 and 77 Church Road in Warsash, but the developer now wants to replace them with a payment towards affordable housing elsewhere in Fareham borough.
Imperial Homes has applied to change the legal agreement attached to the scheme, which was granted planning permission in November last year.
The approved development includes nine detached homes for sale on the open market, alongside five affordable homes, an access road, parking and a wildlife area.
Those five homes were set to include affordable-rent properties, shared-ownership housing and a one-bedroom wheelchair-accessible social-rent home.
But Imperial Homes has now said it has been unable to find a registered provider, such as a housing association, willing to buy and manage the affordable properties.
A report prepared for Fareham Borough Council’s planning committee said the developer contacted several providers and listed the homes on the Government’s Social Housing Screening Platform, run by Homes England. No housing provider came forward to acquire the homes for social rent, according to the report.
The developer said housing associations were “increasingly unwilling to take on smaller developments”, instead favouring schemes of more than 30 homes because of reduced grant funding, rising building costs and the efficiencies of delivering larger projects.
Two providers showed interest only in a shared-equity arrangement. However, Fareham Housing said this would not meet the council’s identified housing need.
The council’s housing development officer has instead supported an off-site financial contribution to help deliver affordable homes elsewhere in the borough.
Under the proposal, Imperial Homes would pay £452,285 in three instalments, before the first, seventh and 13th homes are occupied.
The last home could not be occupied until the full sum had been paid.
Planning officers have recommended that councillors approve the change to the Section 106 agreement.
They said that continuing to require the on-site affordable homes could delay or stall the development, and potentially put delivery of the wider scheme at risk.
If approved, none of the 14 homes at the Church Road development would be affordable housing. Instead, the council would receive the contribution to support housing schemes elsewhere. The planning committee will make its decision on Wednesday, September 9.