Bristol councillors approve Finzels Reach deal with 'gun to head'

RESIDENTS look set to miss out on £4.5 million of investment and affordable housing after a developer "put a gun" to city councillors' heads.

Property developer HDG Mansur warned the £255 million Finzels Reach scheme in the city centre would no longer be viable if it had to meet all of the agreed planning obligations.

So the company asked the council to consider dropping a requirement to provide 37 affordable homes, valued at around £100,000 each, and investment in local schools, roads and public art.

Councillors who met yesterday to make the decision described the situation as "having one arm put behind their back".

Initially they wanted to defer for a month to see if there were alternatives available, including the council paying for the affordable homes now on the condition they might be paid back by the developer later.

Councillor Colin Smith (Lab, Bedminster) suggested the council could look into selling the St Ursula's school site to pay for the homes.

But a company spokesman who attended the meeting said he needed a decision "immediately".

At this point, Councillor Christian Martin (Lib Dem, Clifton East) said that insistence was like "having his arm removed from his back and a gun put to his head".

It has also emerged that the £4.5 million saved still will not make the scheme financially viable, and that there is nothing to stop the developer coming back and asking that further commitments are dropped.

After a lengthy debate, members of the development control committee eventually decided to approve the proposal, with the "strong recommendation" that the developer meets with the executive member for housing Anthony Negus to look at other options.

Before the councillors' discussion, the committee was addressed by Michael Baker, head of development for HDG Mansur.

He said: "Finzels Reach is the biggest speculative urban regeneration project in the UK outside of London and the South East.

"In the period of time since the scheme was first conceived the financial and economic climate has changed dramatically. The development to date is running at a significant loss.

"It has been suggested we are not committed to making this scheme work. Nothing could be further from the truth."

The scheme is due to be completed by 2017, providing 398 homes with offices, restaurants and a new, £3.6 million bridge to Castle Park.

Even with the reduction of section 106 planning agreement obligations, the developer will still provide 55 affordable homes and around £9 million of contributions.

The council was under no obligation to reduce level of planning agreement.

But officers were concerned the scheme would be "mothballed" if they did not, sending out negative messages about Bristol to other potential developers.

Mr Smith said: "I feel like my arm is half way up my back. Clearly these 37 affordable housing units are very important. On the other hand I want to see these developments continue.

"I suggest there is no other option than to very, very reluctantly agree with the recommendation but I do so with a very heavy heart."

For much of the debate, the committee tried to find ways to defer the decision to look at other options.

Councillor Alex Pearce (Con, St George East) said: "I do not believe, given the amount of time from the original consent, that one month from this meeting to the next is going to encourage any investors to pull out of such a scheme when there is so much money at stake."

But in a vote of five in favour and two abstentions, councillors agreed with the recommendation.

After the meeting, Mr Baker said: "We are hugely relieved that the council has decided to approve our proposals which acknowledge the current economic climate as well as sending out a very positive message about investment in the city."