The Salford Star has been highlighting a massive planning scandal that has cost the city over £19million in the past twelve months alone. It centres on the issue of `viability' when Salford Council planners decide what contributions, or Section 106 payments, developers should make in return for building huge blocks of apartments and houses.
Salford Council planners and councillors have always said that the Government's nasty NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework) has tied their hands because it states that councils have to "ensure viability"; and "when taking account of the normal cost of development and mitigation, provide competitive returns to a willing land owner to enable the development to be deliverable..."
In a recent planning policy document, Salford Council set the `competitive returns' ie developers' profits at up to £24million. When calculating contributions to the city, all the costs to developers for Section 106 payments are added into an equation that includes such profits (up to 20%) - and virtually every single large application to Salford Council over the last year has included a paragraph stating that the scheme would not be `viable' if Section 106 contributions had to be made.
The Star, in an in-depth article in the latest printed issue (see here), put the lost contribution figure at over £19million.
In planning meetings, councillors, including the Assistant Mayor for Planning, Derek Antrobus - who stated "our communities are being robbed, left right and centre..." have been wringing their hands at their lack of power in halting the planning fee avoidance. But yesterday, the Government appeared to throw the power back to the councils...
In a written question to Brandon Lewis, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Salford and Eccles MP, Rebecca Long-Bailey, asked "whether the Greater Manchester city region will be able to set its own guidance on viability of new developments".
The Secretary of State replied... "The National Planning Policy Framework, informed by Planning Guidance, sets out the policy principles relating to viability assessment. However, the Government does not believe that imposition of a single viability model would be appropriate, which gives local authorities the freedom to set their own approach to assessing viability of new developments."
In other words, Salford Council does have the "freedom to set their own approach". Unfortunately, the Council has only recently done this and set planners' profits at up to £24million.
Will this new clarification of the NPPF make a difference? Roll on the next planning meeting...
See also previous related Salford Star articles...
* Salford Council guarantees £21million loans for unaffordable housing - click here
* Salford Council loses another £1million developer fees - click here
* Salford Council refuses to reveal planning viability figures - click here
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
(3).jpeg)
.png)
(1).JPG)
