A new residential tower block can now be built on derelict land that was at risk of staying “undeveloped for the foreseeable future” due to cost problems.
Developer Cassidy Group has been 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 hit a number of hurdles along the way.
Work stalled after the land was cleared due to financial problems, but Cassidy managed to secure £7.2 million in public money from the East Midlands Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund at the start of this year.
However, despite the boost, it said a funding gap remained.
Plans returned to Nottingham City Council’s planning committee on Wednesday (August 19), where councillors considered waiving more than half a million pounds in community cash contributions, formally known as Section 106 contributions, to make the scheme financially viable.
However, some councillors said The Meadows would be losing out on vital funds for local infrastructure projects, open space improvements, and education and employment opportunities.
Cllr Kevin Clarke (Ind) said: “I am delighted and supportive of the scheme itself; it’s just the fact that they have now been granted £7 million from the public purse, and you would think some sort of contribution would be possible within that.”
Similarly, Cllr Shuguftah Quddoos (Green) added: “The developers will in time make a lot of money from renting and selling these flats, because none of them are social housing.
“Yet again the people of The Meadows won’t benefit. I think it is about time, as a planning committee, we make decisions that reflect the needs of people in The Meadows.
“We should, as elected representatives, be fighting for what is, really, a pittance.”
Under the council’s current policies, the developer should have had to pay £2.9 million in financial contributions to reduce the scheme’s impact on the local area and its services.
Yet it was agreed a few years back that Cassidy Group would only have to pay at least £554,000.
Cassidy most recently argued it could not afford to pay even the lower amount of £554,000 and asked that these contributions be waived in part or entirely, pending a final independent assessment which will look into the finances of the scheme.
Cllr Graham Chapman (Lab) said he too had been complaining about developers avoiding Section 106 contributions “for many years”, but emphasised that the city needs homes.
“Because it isn’t student accommodation, we will get council tax out of this, and that is really important,” he said.
“The market is flat. It is not what it used to be. It is not just in Nottingham; it is across the country. In order to get this moving, EMCCA would have done an assessment and was willing to put £7 million in.
“We’ve also got to think of the reputation of the City Council. We’ve got to make things reasonably easy [for developers]. Let’s get this site moving, let’s get it developed, let’s get it into flats, and let’s get the council tax.”
Paul Seddon, the director of planning at the council, said that while he agreed with the disappointment over the fact that Section 106 contributions had been waived “more and more” over recent years, the industry is no longer what it was.
“Between 2020 and now, the industry would probably roughly guess at about 40 per cent-ish construction cost inflation; materials to build things have gone up between 40 and 80 per cent,” he added.
“The value at the end has not kept pace with the increase in actually building things. That is the fundamental challenge with the development industry at the moment.
“The decision to resist this gets no homes and no Section 106 contribution. It is vitally important for the city as a whole, including The Meadows, that we build as many homes as we possibly can.”
If the waiving or reduction of the contributions was resisted, Mr Seddon said the site would likely “remain undeveloped for the foreseeable future”.
A majority of councillors approved a decision to either waive or, in the best-case scenario, lower the Section 106 contributions.
Councillors Quddoos, Clarke and Anwar Khan (NPA) voted against the decision.
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.
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter