Viable Placemaking successfully demonstrated that the £70,000 affordable housing contribution was unviable and should not be required for a self-build replacement dwelling in Richmond.
A homeowner was seeking planning permission for a replacement self-build dwelling for their family in Hampton, which falls within the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
Like many Councils in London and the South East, Richmond’s affordable housing policy is strict and requires a contribution towards affordable housing on small developments, including replacement dwellings. Due to prior experience with the Council, we have a dedicated Insight on the policy here.
As a town planning consultancy with a specialism in development economics and viability, Viable Placemaking have extensive experience negotiating planning obligations and development viability for a variety of schemes, including residential developments.
The Viability Assessment demonstrated that the development was unviable and should not be required to make a contribution towards affordable housing.
The Council agreed with Viable Placemaking’s assessment and confirmed the scheme shall not be required to provide any contribution.
This was an excellent result for the client and Viable Placemaking’s Director, Adam Place, was thrilled to have assisted the client with this development.
“So often do these strict policies act as a blockade to fantastic small developments, which are often unviable.”
“I’m personally thrilled to have assisted with this planning application and hope this serves as an example to other homeowners and developers with small schemes that are struggling under the weight of development costs that there are people out there who can help get their schemes over the line.”
Viable Placemaking is committed to providing all types of housing, including open market and affordable housing, where it is viable and deliverable at a site, to meet the needs of the community.
If you have a development which you think is unviable, or if you would like to learn more about the viability process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.