Plans for a new Lidl supermarket and 62 homes in Nottingham could fall through after the housing developer behind it expressed financial concerns. The scheme was planned on the site of the former Chronos Richardson plastics factory off Belconnen Road, Beswtood estate.
Nottingham City Council ’s planning committee gave it the green light during a meeting on December 21 last year.
While both the housing and the supermarket are separate, the applicant Ms Julie White had submitted them as a comprehensive package on behalf of Lidl and MyPad, the housing developer.
This was so it met the council’s local plan, a document setting out how the development of housing, businesses and roads infrastructure can best benefit the area the council is responsible for.
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With all housing developments, developers typically agree to provide a Section 106 contribution.
This usually comes in the form of a financial payment to help with affordable housing targets, as well as contributing towards more open space, biodiversity gain, and education, employment and training opportunities in the area where homes are planned.
MyPad had agreed to provide £151,110.69 towards open spaces, £52,546.44 towards biodiversity gain, £338,875 towards education provision as well as £19,128 towards employment opportunities.
However, since the scheme’s approval MyPad says it can no longer meet its agreed financial contribution “due to commercial reasons”.
The plans will now return to the city council’s planning committee on Tuesday, July 19, where it is recommended MyPad is given until October 2023 to conduct further negotiations to see if a resolution can be achieved.
If not the entire scheme, including the Lidl supermarket, will have permission refused.
“Without the Section 106 agreement, the proposed housing development would fail to provide the agreed contributions towards affordable housing, open space, education, biodiversity gain and employment and training opportunities,” the city council says in planning documents.
“Furthermore, the planning balance justification for a departure from the development plan for the retail store is negatively affected by the removal of the residential element from the comprehensive scheme provided by the two applications.
“It is considered that these factors therefore amount to a material change in circumstances since the committee originally considered the applications, which warrants further consideration by the committee.”
In the documents, the city council says if MyPad’s housing cannot be delivered, the Lidl supermarket cannot be granted permission because it would only partially regenerate what is currently a vacant brownfield plot of land.
“Whilst the employment and retail benefits are still recognised, the retail development in isolation would see at best a partial regeneration of a brownfield site,” documents add.
“Regeneration of the remainder of the land for the allocated purpose would be dependent on an application coming forward in the future and can no longer be regarded with sufficient certainty as to carry weight as a material planning consideration.
“It is considered that the retail development in isolation would at best not facilitate regeneration of the remaining land and, at worst, has the potential to be a barrier to it.”
