Developer seeks new deal over Sunbridge Road plans (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Developer seeks new deal over Sunbridge Road plans

8:00am Friday 5th October 2012 in News By Jo Winrow, City Hall Reporter

The developer behind plans to convert a city centre building into 163 apartments has gone back to Bradford Council seeking to renegotiate existing planning obligations to make the scheme more viable.

Lawton Properties, which owns the Laconia Building at 179 Sunbridge Road, was granted permission to redevelop it in 2010.

It was agreed at the time that £33,400 would be paid towards recreation, £29,000 towards education, £50,000 for highways works, that 13 flats would be made available as affordable housing at 70 per cent discount, and that an off-site gym would be provided for the use of residents.

However the company believes the scheme would not be viable in the current market with all these obligations.

A resubmitted application asks for the obligation to provide affordable housing and thousands for recreation to be removed from the legal agreement. However, the Council is asking for a much larger sum towards education provision, at £58,335, so in total the cash being offered is £4,000 less than before. But there is also the cost of providing no affordable housing to take into account.

Agent Anthony Lupton, of Beckwith Design Associates, based in Little Germany, said: “When we originally applied for permission for the building the residential market was a very different prospect. The current obligations are preventing development due to the requirements of the section 106 agreement.”

Officers are recommending the revised contribution level be agreed taking into account a report that was agreed by the committee in December 2009, which looked at the possibility of reduced developer contributions in response to the national economic downturn.The meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 10, at 10am in Bradford’s City Hall.