Issue - meetings

Description of application – Application under Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to remove condition 3 (requirement to enter into S106 planning obligation to secure viability review mechanisms) of permission ref. 19/01543/RECON for residential development comprising erection of 6 x four storey buildings consisting of 10 four bedroom apartments together with concierges office. Construction of basement car park with 204 spaces. Central landscaped area with 10 visitor spaces, cycle parking for 286 and refuse stores.

Oral representations in support of the application were received from the applicant’s agent who reported that the developer’s funders were not prepared to lend money due to the requirement for a late stage review. In an effort to resolve the situation when the application was considered in October 2020, the offer of an upfront payment in lieu of a late stage review had been offered and this still applied today. 

 The agent gave the following responses to Member questions:-

·  In regard to the Inquiry into the former Dylon site application, a letter from Barclays Bank had stipulated that that they would not be willing to lend funds if a late stage review were to go ahead.

·  The London Plan had now been adopted and it was acknowledged that there was a development policy which underpinned the late stage review requirement. However, there were other matters which weighed into the overall planning balance. The Secretary of State did say to the Mayor that there should be no barrier to the delivery of housing as there was an urgent need to provide more housing in London. At the Dylon Inquiry, the Inspector recognised that a late stage review could be a barrier to the delivery of new housing schemes.

·  When the offer in lieu of a late stage review was previously made, there was also a question of the outstanding appeal costs of £90k awarded against the Council which still remained unsettled. The £345k offered at the time was accompanied by an undertaking that the costs award would not be pursued. There was currently room for negotiation on this. If building costs and revenue stayed the same, the outcome of a late stage review would show that no money would be available to the Council for affordable housing. If things did change, there could be a further payment.

·  The developer had owned the land since 1999 after a land transfer with the Council in which he gave the Unicorn Primary School site at a cost to himself of around £5m because he had planning permission to develop that land. The Council had therefore benefitted from this transaction.

·  It was anticipated that the build programme would commence in the autumn and would take approximately 24-30 months to complete.

·  Guidance stated that as a draft plan went through the process, the weight given to policies increased with full weight being given once the draft plan had been adopted.

·  While the need for affordable housing was acknowledged, the situation was different today compared to when the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34