2 weeks Ago
The head of City Hall has doubled down on his pledge 50pc of the upcoming Anglia Square redevelopment will be affordable housing – despite the council only have 10pc approved so far. The scheme, which has been given £34 million in funding, will demolish and rebuild the site creating 1,100 new homes. A recent meeting of roughly 90 people living near Anglia Square, set up by Norwich Assemble, revealed their main concern about the development was social housing, with just 110 currently approved as affordable.
The 10pc is the minimum amount of affordable housing a developer is required to build with each major development, according to the government's National Planning Policy Framework. However, leader of Labour-run Norwich City Council Mike Stonard, has pledged "at least 50pc" will be affordable. A Norwich Assemble meeting was held last month for the public to raise questions about the upcoming Anglia Square redevelopment (Image: Newsquest) 'OVERWHELMING DEMAND' Bernadette Barclay, of Norwich Assemble, said: "There was an overwhelming demand for social housing, with people wanting a minimum of 33pc - so 10pc isn't good enough.
"It's essential that people have a say in the whole process, as they will have to live with the whole demolition programme. "This will include the loss of shops and social meeting places which people are very worried about. "The redevelopment needs to be in consultation with people living nearby, who are very clear about what they want and don't want.
" Other issues raised at the meeting included car-free transport, wildlife friendly spaces, independent and affordable shops and accessibility for the disabled and elderly. Norwich City Council confirmed it has planning approval for 10pc affordable homes of the 1,100 coming to the site (Image: Newsquest) WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE Gabby Ditton, added: "We want to ensure the community's voice is at the centre of this project. "Anglia Square's redevelopment is a key issue for the local community, with huge impacts on housing, local businesses and public spaces.
"So many people - not just the ones who were able to come to the Assembly - are worried about the future of the area." COUNCIL'S 50PC PLEDGE A council spokesman said: "Anglia Square has planning approval for 10pc of affordable homes of the 1,100 we will be delivering for the site. "We're working at pace to deliver the new Anglia Square which will not only mean new homes but hundreds of jobs for local people, an eclectic range of retail outlets, new leisure and community facilities and new cycle links to the heart of the city.
" Bernie Barclay and Gabby Ditton, of Norwich Assemble, said social housing was the top concern raised from the meeting (Image: Bernie Barclay) Councillor Stonard added: "I agree that affordable housing is a top priority and I'm committed to providing as much as possible, within the viability constraints. "We're an ambitious administration and I have stated publicly that we're going to deliver at least 50pc affordable housing on the first two phases of the Anglia Square redevelopment. “We'll go further and deliver even more than that, if we can.
“We're using the existing planning consent of 10pc to deliver the first two phases of Anglia Square. Leader of the city council, Mike Stonard, said they'll go further and deliver even more than the 50pc social housing if possible (Image: Newsquest) "This is partly because it would take so long to obtain a new consent, meaning we would lose the £34m grant from Homes England, which is an essential part of the package. "The very fact that an existing consent was in place, meaning we could move quickly to delivery, was a significant factor in us obtaining the grant in the first place.
"The 10pc affordable housing figure in that existing consent is a minimum provision and we are able to exceed it if we wish - and we fully intend to. "Officers have been modelling the viability of various amounts of affordable housing at Anglia Square and have, at this early stage, arrived at a figure of around 50pc." The council said its ambition is to increase the affordable housing to at least 28pc (Image: Newsquest).
