The application had been refused by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council in March 2011. The inspector said in her report that the Council had not been opposed to the layout and elevation details of the scheme and that the main issue was whether the development made adequate provision for affordable housing and open space.
The developer had not proposed to provide any affordable housing as part of the scheme. This conflicted with the Council’s local policies which provided that schemes comprising 15 dwellings or more should provide 25% affordable housing subject to negotiation with the Council.
The inspector said that the developer had provided a “robust assessment” on the viability of the scheme and its lack of ability to provide any affordable housing “at this time”. She said that the supply of 21 affordable houses on the site, which would be the amount required to meet the Council’s policy target, would “significantly undermine” the viability of the scheme.
The inspector said that the developer had provided a unilateral undertaking in which it had agreed to submit a revised viability appraisal upon completion of 50% of the homes. Under the terms of the undertaking, if affordable housing subsequently becomes viable, the developer will then pay a deferred contribution to the Council.
“This would ensure that any changes in circumstances would be accounted for,” the inspector said. She said that the Council had confirmed that they were content with the provisions of the undertaking and that there were schemes on which the funding could be spent.
The inspector said that the financial contribution made through the unilateral undertaking would also help provide public open space, which the plans for the scheme currently lacked. “Given the contribution that the provision of adequate open space makes to sustainable communities, I consider that the contribution would be justified,” she said.
