18 CASE STUDY
for the protected amphibians, with specific planting and log piles, plus bat boxes, and planting and replacement trees to encourage more birds into the local area. As well as the relocated newts, slow worms, frogs and toads, plus a single shrew were also safely relocated, and all tree removal was done before the breeding season began.
While the developer succeeded in its
mission to “encourage, restore and enhance biodiversity,” the measures reportedly caused significant logistical difficulties. “Due to the timing of the land purchase, we were only just able to complete our newt survey with a day to spare within the specified season, otherwise we would have had to wait another nine months,” explains Alli.
SME BURDENS
Though these barriers were overcome in the end, Alli believes they were all exacerbated significantly by CHI’s position as a small builder.
“SMEs are the lifeblood of the UK, yet we face disproportionate challenges to those experienced by the large-scale developer, both in terms of buying power for labour and materials and the planning system,” she says.
THE TEAM HAD TO PURSUE THE ‘VARIATION OF CONDITION’ ROUTE AS THE MOST STRAIGHTFORWARD APPROACH TO ACHIEVING A REDESIGN
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Alli argues that local authorities tend to prioritise large sites over small ones as they have limited resources. As such, she says, it’s a “frequent occurrence” for small builders to wait between nine and 12 months for planning permissions to be granted or rejected, and to have “little or no contact” with their planning officer to discuss the scheme.
“Due to the scale of our developments, we can rarely hold land for this long without activity, or sustain substantial delays once committed to the develop- ment without it reducing our profits to the point the sites become unviable,” she adds.
REACTIONS So far, Alli Gay says the reaction to the completion of this challenging project has been “really positive.” “We have strived to maintain positive relationships with the neighbours,” she says. “Nobody likes development on their doorstop, and the removal of the farmhouse was disappointing for the community, but people seem to appreciate that we’ve strived to recycle the stone, and enhanced the wildlife.” The development has had continuous viewings since the show home was launched in November last year – Alli believing this attention is in part due to it being gated and private, offering a haven for growing families. With all the plots now sold, occupants are set to move in from the end of February 2021. Looking back, Alli concludes that while nobody anticipated the impact of Covid and the planning system being “extremely broken,” her firm would, “if we had to do it all over again, approach the redesign in the same way.” g
She further criticises larger builders’ “frequent land banking,” and decries the fact that developer contributions such as CIL are negotiable when building more than 10 homes, which is the threshold for affordable units, thereby disproportionately weakening the micro developer’s position.
“Even if building at the scale of 10+
units, as an SME it is likely you are paying a professional to negotiate these agreements on your behalf – so either way we are at a disadvantage.” Alli says that what she sees as an “inconsistent” approach to the inclusion of small sites in local plans also puts SMEs at a disadvantage, with larger sites afforded greater priority because they fulfil local housing requirements at a greater pace.
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