A housing developer has asked Copeland Council to release it from the obligation of building affordable homes because it is no longer viable.
Permission was granted to build seven homes at Tarn Bank in Braystones in 2014. An agreement imposed on the developer meant that it had to have two homes for sale on the open market and five designated as affordable.
Work has started on the site but now, SRE Associates, on behalf of the developer, has asked Copeland Council to lift the restriction.
A financial viability appraisal from the applicant said that a reasonable profit could not be made from the development by including the affordable properties.
Carigiet Cowen Chartered Surveyors undertook the independent study. It said: “A minimum developer’s profit of 18 to 25 per cent would be anticipated, as a result this viability appraisal determines that no designation for affordable dwellings should apply.
“The development of the site would provide reasonable quality living accommodation but not bespoke or of a particularly high quality, as the market would not withstand the increased build cost of a higher specification.
“Construction costs proportionately outweigh sales values and as a result when a developers reasonable profit is accounted for a schemes capacity for affordable provision is restricted.”
