Affordable homes at Halsnead 'not economically viable'

A quarter of the 1,600 new homes planned for Halsnead Garden Village are supposed to be “affordable” under policies approved by Knowsley Council.

But developer Bloor Homes has said its part of the flagship housing project is only viable if it includes zero affordable homes instead of the 90 that would be needed to meet the requirement.

Bloor is delivering the first phase of the garden village project – Merseyside’s largest housing development – and is currently awaiting planning permission for up to 360 homes off Windy Arbor Lane.

When it first submitted its planning application in 2018, Bloor said it would meet the 25 per cent affordable housing requirement and noted that public consultation had revealed significant demand for affordable homes and houses for first-time buyers.

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But an updated application published in November last year removed the commitment to build affordable houses.

Green Party councillor Kai Taylor said he was “incredibly disappointed” by the move.

He said: “Residents in Knowsley are desperate for affordable homes to raise their families in, expensive executive housing estates aren’t the answer to this problem.

“It appears Knowsley Council is being pushed around by these developers. I’d urge the leadership of the council to show some political backbone and put people before profit. 

“Many residents are staunchly against this proposal due to its position on former green belt land, this latest revelation will further anger residents.”

A spokesperson for the council said claims about the economic viability of the project would be assessed by independent consultants.

£13.8 million profits, but affordable housing ‘unviable’

A planning statement submitted alongside Bloor’s updated proposals said: “At the time of the planning application submission in April 2018, it was hoped that the proposed development would be capable of supporting 25 per cent affordable housing. 

“A viability assessment was subsequently undertaken, which was submitted to the council in March 2019. The assessment demonstrates that the inclusion of any affordable housing will render the scheme unviable.”

Viability assessments are used by property developers to determine whether the value of a development is more than the cost of developing it.

But the housing charity Shelter has criticised the use of viability statements, saying they are often used by developers to avoid having to build affordable housing.

The government allows developers to reduce their commitment to building affordable homes if this would threaten the viability of a development, but also permits them to claim that anything less than a 20 per cent profit is not viable.

According to an updated viability statement produced by estate agent Savills for Bloor Homes last month, the developer expects to net a £13.8 million profit from the first phase of the garden village, with houses selling for an average of £228,155 – almost £100,000 more than the current average price of a semi-detached house in Knowsley.

But despite projecting a 22 per cent profit for the scheme, the viability statement suggests that including any affordable housing would mean the scheme was not economically viable.

As well as seeking not to build affordable homes, Bloor has also argued that it should only have to pay significantly reduced Section 106 contributions – the payments that developers make to support infrastructure such as transport, schools and health facilities.

A planning statement submitted in November last year suggested Bloor would pay around £4million in Section 106 contributions, depending on the number of houses actually built.

But the viability statement published this month puts the figure at just £725,000 – again claiming that any more than this would threaten the scheme’s viability.

But a spokesperson for Knowsley Council said: “The council remains of the view that any development as part of Halsnead Garden Village must mitigate its impacts through the payment of an appropriate s.106 contribution, this has been communicated to each developer.”

Meanwhile, Stewart Milne Homes, the only other developer to have submitted a formal planning application for part of the garden village, has also said including affordable housing would make its plans to build 225 houses unviable.

Although Stewart Milne Homes has not published its viability assessment, a planning statement submitted in 2018 said it was “unable to meet the affordable housing provision because it would render the development unviable when taking account of the abnormal costs on the application site”. 

The Stewart Milne development, split between two sites off Lickers Lane, would have included 56 affordable houses if it had met the council’s 25 per cent policy.

This means around 146 affordable homes would be lost across the two sites – more than a quarter of the approximately 400 affordable homes expected to be built at the new garden village.

A Knowsley Council spokesperson said: “The masterplan for Halsnead is clear that it expects that any development must mitigate its impacts through the payment of an appropriate s.106 contribution for such items as education, health, green space etc and provide up to 25 per cent affordable housing where viable. 

“The ‘where viable’ caveat is a requirement of national planning policy, which supports the ability of developers to make an appropriate profit, as well as landowners to receive a reasonable amount for selling development land.

“Both Bloor Homes and Stewart Milne Homes have chosen to submit viability statements as part of their planning applications and both indicate that they are unable to provide affordable housing and cannot pay the required level s.106 contributions. 

“The viability submissions provided by both developers are the subject of a detailed and rigorous independent assessment by specialist consultants on behalf of the Council, the outcome of which will be reported to planning committee in due course when each application is considered.”