Decision details

Seeking approval to provide and sell SANG capacity for a 91 residential dwellings development in Surrey Heath

That the Executive Director of Place, Planning and Regeneration be delegated to secure a SANG contribution of £717,626 and a monitoring fee of £160 from a residential development in Surrey Heath District.

1.     Securing £717,626 as a SANG contribution from the development will maximise the potential amount of money the Council can secure from its SANG assets. A development at the Absolute Building, Lyon Way, Frimley (Surrey Heath District, planning reference 16/0803) was approved as a prior approval dated 19^th October 2016. However, before the scheme can be implemented (occupied) it requires SANG capacity to be secured and provided.  There is no available SANG capacity option from within Surrey Heath District so the agent for the developer has requested Bracknell Forest Council to assist by providing the necessary capacity to mitigate the impacts of the development on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area.

2.     Following a review of the proposal for 91 dwellings (of which 72 are one-bedroom and 19 are two-bedroom, dwellings) the Borough Council can assist in providing sufficient SANG capacity for the development provided a financial contribution is made to the Council.  However, because the development is for 91 dwellings which are small (in terms of their number of bedrooms) to provide the SANG capacity at the 1 and 2-bedroom rates in Table 1 of the SPASPD means potentially a lower overall amount received than if the Council provided capacity for other development with a greater number of bedrooms. Therefore, because the Council is utilising 91 dwellings worth of SANG capacity, it is reasonable to maximise the potential amounts it could receive from this out-of-borough development. In order to reflect this opportunity-cost to BFC, it is recommended that the SANG capacity for the 91 dwellings is charged at the highest rate (as set out in Table 1 of the SPASPD) (£7,886 per dwelling or £717,626 in total).  The agent for the developer has agreed with their client that the sum in the recommendation is acceptable.

3.     Providing SANG capacity and generating income from its sale positively contributes towards a number of Council objectives, including:

·       Demonstrating that the Council is proactive in its statutory Duty to Cooperate with other neighbouring authorities by enabling wider delivery of housing need.

·       Providing significant income to support the Council’s SANG programme and strategy.

·       Providing increased income which will translate into high quality maintained open space (SANG).

·       Providing increased income to support relevant Council services as part of the Council’s Transformation programme.

1.     To not provide any SANG capacity for this development which means it would take a considerable amount of time to deliver the income level identified and which could only be achieved from 91 x 5+ bedroom dwellings. It would be very unlikely that £717,626 could be secured from an alternative development.

2.     To provide SANG capacity at the rates in the SPASPD Table 1, which would total £415,683 which would not maximise the receipt for use of the Council’s SANG assets in this respect resulting in £301,943 less income than is proposed in this report.