The Council had refused the application (4-page / 113KB PDF) in September 2011 because of the absence of an affordable housing provision within the scheme. It said that this was contrary to its Local Plan and its Strategic Housing Market Assessment, which required between 35% and 50% affordable housing for schemes comprising 15 homes or more.
The inspector said in her decision notice (6-page / 113KB PDF) that the identified need for affordable housing in the Borough meant that the Council had a "strong case for requiring such a provision".
The inspector noted that the developer's viability study had shown that the site would not be viable even with 100% market housing. She said that the developer's desire to have a site ready for when the market picks up should not be at the expense of the provision of affordable housing for which there was an "acute need".
The inspector dismissed an argument by the developer that it would be reasonable for the Council to allow a development with 100% market housing because it had allowed other residential schemes with 100% affordable housing. She noted that such schemes had been promoted on the Council's own land and in conjunction with housing associations to address the affordable housing need.
The inspector also noted that the proposals did not provide for financial contributions towards education facilities to meet the additional demand for such facilities which would arise from the development.
The inspector concluded that, although the proposed scheme was in a sustainable location and would re-use a brownfield site, the lack of affordable housing and education facilities provisions meant that the development could not "be said to be sustainable in social terms".
