Consented plans for 326 flats in Basing View go back before councillors this week to seek a time limit on how long the scheme must remain Build-to-Rent (BTR).
Proposals by Packaged Living and Buccleuch Property (Basingstoke) to demolish the 1970s View Point office building and replace it with the BTR scheme, were approved by Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council’s development management committee on last May.
But a clause in the scheme’s s106 agreement meant it had to be remain BTR in perpetuity, a point which Packaged Homes has argued, could put the scheme’s funding at risk.
It is seeking a 10-year BTR period, after which the flats can be sold on the open market and councillors at the committee’s February 25 meeting have been recommended to approve the change, provided the s106 is completed within six months.
If any were sold before the 10-year period, a penalty would be incurred through a claw-back mechanism.
In a letter to the council, Packaged Living chief operating officer, Mark Woodrow assured the council the developer remains committed to the scheme.
But he added: “BTR restrictions are well rehearsed across the UK, especially in areas which have seen greater additionality in delivery of homes through successful ‘build to rent’ schemes, such as London, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Reading, among others.
“Firstly, the restriction needs to be time limited, timescales ranging from 5 to 15 years across various different local authorities.
“Secondly, the restriction should preserve the ability to sell homes, in the normal way ‘for sale’ way a housebuilder would, with a ‘clawback mechanism’ in place to ensure any additional value of this is captured by the local authority as further public benefit of the scheme. This is usually in the form of an additional cash contribution towards off site affordable housing.”
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