A funding gap remains for a huge residential apartment scheme near Nottingham Railway Station despite the developer receiving millions from the public purse.
Developer Cassidy Group Ltd is currently looking to build a 319-bed apartment block on land between Arkwright Street, Crocus Street and Meadows Way.
Clearance work on the site first began in 2021; however, the scheme has hit a number of hurdles along the way.
Work stalled after the land was cleared due to cost problems, but Cassidy Group managed to secure £7.2 million from the East Midlands Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund at the start of this year.
The fund, announced in 2024, is money the authority was given by the government to support projects on land that has previously been developed but is now abandoned, derelict or unused.
However, despite the funding boost, the developer says there remains a funding gap.
The plans will return to Nottingham City Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (August 19), when councillors will be asked to consider waiving more than half a million pounds in community cash contributions, formally known as Section 106 contributions.
Planning documents say: “The Cassidy Group has recently been awarded a Brownfield Housing Grant of £7.2m by East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to deliver the development; however, there remains a funding gap.
“The developer is therefore seeking to revisit the previously approved S106 with a view to waiving this financial contribution.
“The applicant has submitted an up-to-date viability appraisal that concludes the development would be unviable with the burden of S106 financial contributions, also factoring in the £7.2m grant earmarked from EMCCA.
“The viability appraisal is currently under review by the council’s independent assessor and an update will be provided at the meeting.”
Councils typically grant planning permission to developers on the proviso that they contribute financially to affordable housing and local education, employment and infrastructure opportunities in a bid to reduce the impact of a scheme.
Under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, these financial contributions are designed to act as a mechanism to make a larger-scale development more acceptable in planning terms.
Under the council’s current policies, the developer should have had to pay £2.9 million towards affordable housing, education, public open space and local employment and training.
Yet it was agreed at the time that Cassidy Group would only have to pay at least £554,000, or up to £870,000 should the financial situation improve.
However, the developer now says it cannot afford to pay the lower amount of £554,000 and has asked that these contributions be waived in part or entirely.
Planning permission was first granted in June 2019 for a mixed residential development featuring 420 student beds and 149 residential apartments.
However, changes in the student market and unforeseen build costs meant that work never got underway, and the scheme was revised.
The new scheme, for 319 residential apartments, was approved in February 2024, following a decision at a planning committee in June 2020.
The aim of the complex, which was expected to include a gym, courtyard and retail space, was to “create a business district around the station” following the opening of HMRC’s Unity Square in 2021.
However, since the second proposal was approved, the retail space has been scrapped and the height of the block has been reduced.
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
