Salford City Council has reassured residents that delivering affordable housing remains a “priority,” following concerns over the recent scrapping of proposed plans.
In January, property developer ECF submitted plans to build 42 affordable three-bedroom homes on a 1.8-acre site on Farmer Norton car park near Chapel Street, to form part of the Adelphi Village.
Earlier this year, ECF bosses said the homes would be energy efficient, allowing residents to cut their expenses by up to 90 per cent compared with traditional housing.
However, the property developer – working in tandem with Salford City Council, the University of Salford and ECF to deliver six development zones as part of a £2.5 bn Crescent Salford masterplan – has controversially walked back on their plans to produce affordable and energy efficient housing.
The government’s guidance on affordable housing for sale outlines that homes committed by developers should be sold at a 20 per cent discount, but ECF has made the 42 townhouses planned at the site for open market sale.
They cited a “viability gap” in financing as a reason for their decision and have also dropped their commitment to ensure the homes meet rigorous Passivhaus energy efficiency standards, as previously pledged.
While ECF maintain the ‘Crescent Salford Masterplan’ will still increase the amount of available affordable housing, concerns have been raised as it was revealed the plan is suffering from a financial shortfall at an early stage.
However, a spokesperson for Salford City Council stated that they are committed to providing affordable housing for Salfordians.
They said: “It is an absolute priority of the council to provide more affordable homes, and we are actively doing this.
“Our own housing company Dérive now has more than 500 affordable homes in our portfolio. More than 300 homes are rented out at social rent and almost 200 at affordable rent. There are also 1,200 homes in the pipeline and (they) will be available for Salford people as soon as possible.
“The item discussed at Property and Regeneration meeting on Monday is just one part of the wider Adelphi village scheme. ECF are actively working to bring more affordable homes in the other phases as they come forward.”
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