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A row has broken out over claims Barnet Council could have lost out on millions of pounds in developer payments for affordable homes.
Labour leader Barry Rawlings claimed the council could have missed out on the cash because of a failure to publish financial viability assessments (FVAs) – used to work out how much affordable housing developments can support – when planning applications were submitted.
But members of the Conservative group strongly denied that the council had lost out on any money, with one Tory councillor branding the suggestions a “fantasy”.
Developers unable to meet a 35% affordable housing target are required to submit FVAs with planning applications to show how much affordable housing can be provided. If none can be built on site, developers can make payments to support provision on other schemes.
In September, Cllr Rawlings submitted a member’s item calling for an investigation into how much money in affordable housing commuted payments may have been lost to the council from all planning applications. It came after the council initially accepted a developer’s proposal that only £900,000 was due for a scheme in West Heath Road, Hampstead, but later upped the payment to £6million following an independent report into the FVA.
The council’s policy and resources committee received a report on Wednesday detailing the findings of a review of 46 planning applications, which was carried out following Cllr Rawlings’ request. It revealed that more than a third of the schemes provided affordable housing on site. The council secured £8.2million from the remaining applications because the FVAs concluded the proposals could not support on-site affordable homes.
But Cllr Rawlings branded the report “inadequate” and said it had “nothing to do” with his member’s item. He said that at the end of 2021 there was “great difficulty” finding FVAs published by the council, despite government guidance…
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Source : times
