Affordable housing halved due to construction costs

The number of affordable homes set for a housing estate on the outskirts of Norwich has been cut by more than half due to "unprecedented construction costs".

Developer Hill Residential told Broadland District Council it could no longer afford to build any of the 79 low-cost properties it had promised as part of a scheme of 239 homes in Thorpe St Andrew.

Dan Massie, development director at the firm, said it faced additional pressure from environmental measures.

At a council planning committee meeting on Wednesday it was agreed that 29 low-cost properties would be built.

Massie said one of the pressures it had faced was the requirement to offset the impact of water pollution caused by the new homes.

According to the government, mitigation measures for developers include creating wetlands or woodlands to capture nutrient pollution.

"We fully recognise the importance of affordable housing and this is not a position Hill wants to be in," he said.

"The circumstances around this application are genuinely exceptional."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said it was the latest in a series of cuts to the number of affordable homes in housing developments across the county.

Jess Royal, Green Party councillor, said while it was a "positive" some affordable homes would be constructed it was "disappointing" many would be ditched.

"It is very disappointing considering previous approvals show the benefit of the high social housing did outweigh the loss of woodland," she said.

"It is a disappointment the original percentage cannot remain."

Peter Berry, Conservative councillor, said he "appreciated" the problems the developer faced with added costs.

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