Over £200,000 in funding lost as Council foregoes money from housing developer

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

Housing development on the former Alexander Drew Mill site, Mellor Street, Rochdale

Over £200,000 in funding has been lost after Rochdale Council agreed to forego the money, which was supposed to be paid by Seddon Homes as a condition for developing the former Alexander Drew Mill site, Mellor Street, Rochdale.

In 2010, Seddon Homes signed a legal agreement regarding what is known as 'Section 106 money' - under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, contributions can be sought from developers towards the costs of providing community and social infrastructure, the need for which has arisen as a result of a new development taking place.

Planning permission for 90 houses was granted in 2009 and Seddon entered into a legal agreement to make financial contributions towards highway improvements and public open space.

A Council planning and licensing meeting in August saw Seddon provide a development appraisal spreadsheet dated May 2016 that showed a loss on the development of £172,661. However, it did not show what houses had been sold for and what they would be sold for from 2016 onwards.

A replacement Section 106 agreement was agreed: the on-site open space land to be offered to the Council, and Seddon to pay a commuted sum payment of £18,259 to be used for the maintenance of the on-site public open space.

Local resident Carl Faulkner opposed the changes on the basis that ‘a proper consultation had not taken place, as local businesses who had expressed concern had not been informed and neither had the local area forum’.

Mr Faulker also objected on the grounds that the traffic flow survey indicating that traffic had reduced since 2006 was ‘flawed’, he said: “The reason for this was that the company who undertook the traffic count had wrongly assumed that a 176-space car park at the bottom of Bridgefold Road indicated higher historical traffic levels. These assumed levels were factored into the report. The car park in question, although marked out in recent years, had never been used as one. It was formerly the site of a garden centre containing greenhouses etc., until the late 1980s.”

He added: “The development deficit figures presented were ‘inconsistent’ with figures previously provided by Seddon in February 2016, which at that time claimed the development deficit would be in the region of £588,000.”

He added: “Despite this, there was no opposition from councillors and no further enquiries were made to me. The application was passed and Spotland and Falinge lost over £200,000 of windfall funding.”

Following this, a request under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) by Rochdale Online revealed Rochdale Council does not hold records of the cumulative contributions agreed in Section 106 agreements.

Rochdale Council had not responded to an invitation to comment at the time of publication.