Agenda item

Rainham Central

Demolition of 4 existing properties and redevelopment to form a block of 56 retirement living apartments comprising of 39 one bedroom and 17 two bedroom apartments and associated communal facilities, access, car parking and landscaping.

Discussion:

The Head of Planning outlined the planning application in detail and drew attention to a number of changes to the report in respect of the proposal heading, recommended conditions, the proposal section set out on page 27 of the agenda and an update on the representations section of the report, full details of which were set out on the supplementary agenda advice sheet.

He reminded the Committee that planning permission for the development of this site had been approved under planning permission MC/19/0797 on 13 November 2019 following completion of a Section 106 Agreement.

He advised that the current application was a re-submission of application MC/19/0797 but differed from the previously approved scheme insofar as the number of units had been increased by one with the addition of a one bedroom flat at the rear on the first floor.

He informed the Committee that the applicant had also requested that the level of contribution under the Section 106 Agreement, previously approved at £307,190.70, be reduced as the applicants claimed that due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the current housing market, the scheme was no longer viable with the current developer contribution requirements.

The Head of Planning confirmed that the applicant’s viability assessment had been independently assessed by the Council's Viability Assessor and he had since supported the reduction in Section 106 contributions from £307,190.70 to £148,250.

In the light of this, officers had undertaken an assessment of the Section 106 Heads of Agreement and in recognition that this development would be aimed at retired individuals and a garden would be included as part of the development, the open space contribution request had been removed in order to maximise the spread of the total contribution across the provision of off-site affordable housing, the local health centre and town centre public realm improvements adjusted pro rata. The contribution for mitigation measures in the Special Protection Areas had been re-assessed and adjusted to take account of the proposed additional flat.

The Committee discussed the application and sought clarification as to why the Covid-19 pandemic was considered to have reduced the viability of the development. In response, the Head of Planning suggested that this could be down to increased cost of materials or the value of the land.

During the discussion, the Head of Planning reminded the Committee that the principle of the development had already been approved in 2019 and therefore the only matters for consideration were the proposed increase by one additional flat and the requested reduction in the Section 106 contributions.

Concern was expressed that the reduction in the level of Section 106 contributions would be insufficient to provide off-site affordable housing and, as this was not a care or nursing home, it was likely that future occupiers would be sufficiently mobile as to want to utilise open green spaces in Medway.

The Committee also noted that property prices were generally increasing and therefore questioned the applicant’s claim that the development was no longer viable. The Committee expressed concern as to the precedent that could be created resulting in other developers using the Covid-19 pandemic as a reason for requesting a reduction in Section 106 contributions.

In response, the Head of Planning commented that viability was often an issue with a brownfield site such as this and he reiterated that the Council’s Independent Viability Assessor had also undertaken an assessment of the scheme.

Decision:

Consideration of the application be deferred to enable the Council’s Independent Viability Assessor to attend the meeting and answer questions on the Viability Assessment.