In Bristol, the persistent issue of housing affordability is exacerbated by developers utilizing viability assessments that claim full affordable housing quotas make projects financially unviable. Despite planning policies mandating 30-40% affordable homes, many assessments report significantly lower figures due to inflated cost evaluations and private confidentiality. This lack of transparency hampers effective scrutiny. Additionally, deferred contributions and "review mechanisms" permit developers to reduce affordable quotas with promises for reviews later in the construction phase, resulting in a shortfall and leaving councils reacting rather than strategizing for housing needs.
Under existing UK planning rules, developers can use viability assessments to justify providing fewer affordable homes, often leading to significant shortfalls in anticipated numbers.
Viability assessments are typically private, exempt from public scrutiny; this lack of transparency allows developers to inflate costs and argue for reduced affordable housing.
#housing-affordability #bristol #viability-assessments #affordable-housing-policies #urban-development
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