0
Following an inquiry held in January, Abri Group has, with the assistance of a team including Reuben Taylor KC and Charles Bishop, secured planning permission for a 25-storey building at Technology House, Woking, comprising 224 residential units, ground floor commercial units, landscaping, bin and cycle storage, public realm works and associated works.
Notwithstanding the refusal of permission by the Council on grounds relating to the impact of a tall building on the character of the area, parking capacity and amenity space provision, the Inspector concluded that the scheme accorded with the development plan and should be permitted without further delay.
The Inspector’s approach to affordable housing may be of some wider interest.
The unilateral planning obligation (“the UU”) offered by Abri Group guaranteed a minimum 40% (90 units) of units would be affordable housing units. However, Abri Group would have preferred to deliver a 100% affordable housing scheme but required grant funding from the HCA which is only available if additionality could be demonstrated.
Schedule 4 of the UU secured affordable housing provision through ‘Option A’ or ‘Option B’ tenure mixes, unless otherwise agreed by the Council. If the development was to comprise 40% affordable units, then the Option A mix would have to be delivered. Whereas if 100% affordable units were to be delivered then the mix in Option B would have to be delivered. The mix in either Option was thus defined but was different.
The Inspector concluded that “such overall provision and flexibility accord with the [development plan] taken as a whole and the advice of the Framework.”
Further, the Inspector concluded with the mechanism in place (paragraph 69)
“the appeal scheme would make a key (affordable home policy compliant) contribution towards addressing an important unmet need and carries substantial positive weight.”
The mechanism secured in the planning obligation thus enabled Abri Group to preserve the additionality required to obtain HCA grant funding for 60% of a 100% AH scheme whilst also securing that affordable housing was a factor to be given substantial weight in favour of the grant of the scheme.
Reuben Taylor KC and Charles Bishop acted for Abri Group.
They were instructed by Tim Burden and Peter Davis of Turley and were assisted by Vitruvius Heritage, SLR Consulting and Tetlow King Planning.
Reuben Taylor KC also obtained planning permission for the Crown Place tall building scheme for Watkins Jones in Woking in November 2022.
The decision letter is available here.
