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Affordable housing site saga rolls on
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| ARTIST'S IMPRESSION: Affordable housing design for the former Olds garage site |
A FRUSTRATED businessman has criticised the bureaucratic stumbling blocks getting in his way as he tries to provide affordable housing for key workers at Dorset County Hospital.
David Stapleton, chief executive of Sherborne Land based in Bournemouth, has acquired the former Olds garage site opposite the hospital in Bridport Road, Dorchester.
Planning permission has been granted for a development consisting of commercial units on the ground floor with 24 residential units above.
West Dorset District Council's planning policy states that eight of the apartments would have to be designated as affordable housing.
But Mr Stapleton has been trying to work with the hospital, Magna, the council and the Housing Corporation - a government agency that funds affordable housing schemes - to try and ensure that all the units are made available at a reduced rate to staff at the hospital.
He said: "The hospital has a requirement for affordable accommodation for nursing staff. Magna are obviously very strong locally, they have taken the existing eight affordable units and want to take more if they can obtain sufficient funding.
"Obviously I can't give them away. I have said to Magna and also to the hospital that at the right price I will sell the remaining 16 to them as well so that all 24 will be available to the
people who purportedly
need it."
Mr Stapleton said that an agreement would clearly be to everyone's benefit but, despite indications that there was funding available, there was a frustrating lack of co-ordination between the organisations involved.
He said: "It just strikes me as a silly situation where Magna want to buy the units, the local authority are short of affordable accommodation and have indicated to Magna that there are funds available to top up any grant from the Housing Corporation.
"The Housing Corporation has said some grant money might be forthcoming but trying to get these people to work together is nigh-on impossible."
Mr Stapleton added: "There is no obligation on me to offer these additional homes and in due course I will have to end up selling them elsewhere."
Mr Stapleton's exasperation has led him to contact West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin to see if there is anything he can do to encourage the various organisations to work together.
Mr Letwin said he had responded to Mr Stapleton's letter and indicated that he would be prepared to talk to the developer face to face for further discussion on the matter.
He said: "I will be happy to meet him and hear more about it and see whether there is any way to work things out that would lead to good results all round."
7:56am Thursday 27th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: Dorset Guy, Bridport on 11:07am Thu 27 Mar 08
As usual mention affordable housing and dispite local and central government claiming to encourage such developments everything gets complicated or blocked or objected to I guess that if the origional planning application had been for all affordable there would have been an outcry from the neighbours or maybe this is just a good move in a falling market?
As usual mention affordable housing and dispite local and central government claiming to encourage such developments everything gets complicated or blocked or objected to I guess that if the origional planning application had been for all affordable there would have been an outcry from the neighbours or maybe this is just a good move in a falling market?
Posted by: James, Weymouth on 6:27pm Thu 27 Mar 08
I bet he would like to sell all the units off plans. Money in the bank in a falling market.
I bet he would like to sell all the units off plans. Money in the bank in a falling market.
Posted by: DingDonG, Wilds of Wiltshire on 7:29pm Thu 27 Mar 08
[quote]David Stapleton, chief executive of Sherborne Land based in Bournemouth, has acquired the former Olds garage site opposite the hospital in Bridport Road, Dorchester.[/quote]
It's a great pity the Counci,Housing Corporation or Magna didn't aquire the land. They could have built affordable housing on their terms & sold the commercial units at sufficient profit to fund the whole scheme.
Silly idea, used to be called Council Housing, but they all got sold! (at a discount)
David Stapleton, chief executive of Sherborne Land based in Bournemouth, has acquired the former Olds garage site opposite the hospital in Bridport Road, Dorchester.
It's a great pity the Counci,Housing Corporation or Magna didn't aquire the land. They could have built affordable housing on their terms & sold the commercial units at sufficient profit to fund the whole scheme.
Silly idea, used to be called Council Housing, but they all got sold! (at a discount)
Posted by: david stapleton, bournemouth on 10:43am Fri 28 Mar 08
It seemed a sensible idea when we first put it to the hospital in March 2006 and it still seems sensible to us today, two years later.
It seemed a sensible idea when we first put it to the hospital in March 2006 and it still seems sensible to us today, two years later.
Posted by: vlad, Dorset on 10:36am Sun 30 Mar 08
I can't believe that the Echo did not see the motivations behind this when filing this report.
In other words, this businessman knows he has no hope of selling these flats in current market conditions for prices that (in his own mind anyway) are fair.
So instead he seeks public subsidy of his inflated profits by 'doing us a favour' and seling the whole development as 'affordable' housing! Why should us taxpayers do this? Perhaps it would be better for all offers of subsidy for affordable housing to be withdrawn for this development. Give it 6 months and the hospital would be able to buy the land at an affordable price and do the development themselves. That would offer the 'best value' in this affair.
I can't believe that the Echo did not see the motivations behind this when filing this report.
In other words, this businessman knows he has no hope of selling these flats in current market conditions for prices that (in his own mind anyway) are fair.
So instead he seeks public subsidy of his inflated profits by 'doing us a favour' and seling the whole development as 'affordable' housing! Why should us taxpayers do this? Perhaps it would be better for all offers of subsidy for affordable housing to be withdrawn for this development. Give it 6 months and the hospital would be able to buy the land at an affordable price and do the development themselves. That would offer the 'best value' in this affair.
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