The deferred planning application has been approved following concerns over section 106 agreement
Clarion subsidiary Latimer Developments has received planning approval to build 481 homes in Digbeth, central Birmingham.
The existing Safestore storage warehouse at the site will be demolished to make space for the new development, consisting of a 34-storey tower and a 10-storey building.
The scheme has been approved after the decision was postponed at Birmingham City Council’s planning committee on 14 March.
The deferral was due to concerns raised regarding the lack of affordable housing included in the section 106 agreement.
After conducting a viability assessment, Latimer indicated that it would not be able to include any affordable housing in the legal agreement.
An independent assessor at the council evaluated Latimer’s viability assessment and deemed this to be a reasonable conclusion.
However, Latimer has pledged to aim for 56% of units as affordable accommodation outside of the legal agreement.
The affordable homes will be delivered through grant funding from Homes England, which cannot be secured for units in a legal agreement.
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Latimer has also proposed for the section 106 agreement to include a review mechanism, so the financial viability of the development can be re-assessed “at an advanced stage of development”.
Latimer is a private limited development company owned by Clarion Housing Group. In its financial statement for 2022/23, Clarion said Latimer had a pipeline of 20,000 homes
Councillor Lee Marsham referred to the agreement on affordable housing provision as “a compromise that semi-protects the council”.
He said that while Latimer’s affordable housing commitment isn’t contained in any legally binding written agreement, the council should name and shame the developer if they don’t follow through on the commitment to deliver affordable housing.
He added: “They [the developer] should be really discouraged from doing future work with the council if they don’t follow through”.
A spokesperson for Clarion said that the association has always been planning to provide 56% of the new homes as affordable housing.
She said: ”As the development arm of the country’s largest housing association, we are committed to making a difference by building sustainable and affordable homes for those that need them most.”
Earlier this month, Clarion agreed a £150m credit facility with Dutch bank ABN AMRO Bank. The new sustainability-linked facility will help Clarion to deliver its mission “to provide homes to those who need them most”.
ABN AMRO and Clarion will agree on a set of sustainability key performance indicators for the facility in the coming months.
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