Rugby councillors furious as developer slashes number of affordable homes on Rugby Gateway scheme

One called the situation an ‘absolute disgrace’ while another said the system was flawed and the practice was ‘bordering on criminal’.

The outbursts came during this week’s August 19 planning meeting of Rugby Borough Council when the number of affordable homes included in the latest phase of the Rugby Gateway scheme was dropped from 40 per cent to less than six per cent.

Planning officer Karen McCulloch explained that developers Bloor Homes had provided a viability assessment explaining the shortfall in the provision and this assessment had been validated by an independent expert.

It will mean that just eight of the 148 houses planned for phase three of the development would be affordable - four rentals and four under a shared ownership scheme.

Councillors were also told that the level of affordable housing on the three phases of Rugby Gateway already agreed had also failed to meet the council’s target.

Cllr Barbara Brown (Lab, New Milton) said: “I’m really disappointed and extremely unhappy that there are only eight affordable dwellings out of 146 - that’s miles away from what’s expected as best practice and in the current climate I think it is irresponsible to allow building like this to take place given that there is such a need for affordable housing.

“It doesn’t match what we said were our ambitions in the Local Plan.

"We need to think very carefully about what kind of precedent we are laying down here.”

And Cllr Peter Butlin (Con, Admirals and Cawston) added: “Developers know to a penny how much it is going to cost them.

"As far as I can see, someone is having the wool pulled over their eyes.

“I won’t vote against this application because I know damn well that it has a so-called expert saying it is unviable with any more affordable housing on it.

"For them to get away with just five per cent of affordable housing on a site like this is bordering on criminal in my opinion.”

The reserved matters application for the site - which looked at appearance, landscaping and layout of the properties - was approved even though just half voted in favour.

Five councillors abstained.

Cllr Belinda Garcia (Con, Revel and Binley Woods) said: “I think this is a really worrying change in a planning application from some time ago.

"I can’t believe for one minute that any of us would have approved that application if there was only going to be five per cent affordable housing.

“We have to learn from this and redo our own policies so that once we’ve agreed that there will be so much affordable housing, that’s how it stays. I just feel that this is an absolute disgrace.”