Developer offers a fresh start at old brickworks
Sheffield Council approved the £10 million plan for the old Dyson Refractories site in Stannington in January.
A condition was that developer Avant Homes should contribute £1.8m towards affordable housing in the area.
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Hide AdBut last month Avant applied to the council seeking a review of the requirement.
In a letter, the firm’s agent said that providing ‘any affordable housing whatsoever’ would render the project ‘unviable’. A report to councillors suggested planning committee members and residents had been ‘misled’.
But a planning meeting on Tuesday will hear that Avant has withdrawn its request for a review.
“It is clear we misjudged the approach,” the council is told by Avant in another report. “We are sorry for that – it was never our intention to ‘play the system’.”
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Hide AdThe company said it had ‘two further choices’ – the first being to accept a refusal and submit an appeal. The second is to take a step back, start with a clean slate and seek to work towards an alternative solution for the site.”
The report says officers will work to ‘secure an appropriate and acceptable redevelopment scheme’.