Affordable housing contribution reduced for Worthing flats scheme

The application, for Manor Road, was approved in August, with the borough council’s head of planning set to agree contributions of £160,152, in line with planning policy.

The applicant, though, claimed such a charge would affect the viability of the development – and the amount has been dropped to £45,375.

During an online meeting of the planning committee, head of planning James Appleton said their were concerns that the council’s infrastructure charges were too high and they could soon be reviewed.

Members were told contribution for such major developments had previously been set at 10 per cent – which the applicant had expected to pay – but had been doubled before this application was considered.

When asked why the 10 per cent figure had essentially been halved, Mr Appleton said the applicant had looked at the finances again and would have ‘struggled’ to match even that figure.

He added: “It’s one of these dilemmas. There’s no point seeking an unreasonable affordable housing contribution and then the development never proceed.

“At least if we can get something that’s viable and it starts, we can then use that £45,000 contribution to help deliver affordable housing elsewhere.”

Leader Paul High said: “I feel a little bit sorry for the applicant. He got caught up in between the council changing the figures.”

Steve Wills (Con, Castle) and Jim Deen (Lab, Central) both said they would have preferred the council to receive the £80,000 a 10 per cent charge would have generated.

Both, though recognised the need for flexibility – especially as the applicant had initially told the council he could not afford to pay any affordable housing contributions.

Mr Wills said: “In the light of where we’re living at the moment, we need to bite the bullet and take the £45,000 before that disappears as well.”

The application was approved unanimously.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.