A payment of £1.5m has been approved to salvage plans to build more than 100 affordable homes.
By Adam Postans & Chloe HarcombeA £1.5m bailout to salvage plans to bulldoze a former police station and build 104 affordable homes in a city centre has been approved.Trinity Road police station in Old Market in 2022.The council has agreed to make the payment using a pot of money called the Community Infrastructure Levy.
A report to councillors said Guinness' board had committed to the redevelopment if the local authority gave the money, and the housing association would continue to find ways to reduce the remaining £2.6m funding gap for the project.Guinness Partnership housing association was given permission to redevelop the site in 2022
Cabinet member for housing, councillor Tom Renhard, said the project would contribute significantly to a target to deliver 1,000 affordable homes a year, but that the redevelopment could not go ahead without the extra cash. The site, which is a former police station, is currently owned by the police and crime commissioner who made the decision to sell it because it "doesn't meet the force's operational requirements".Local Democracy Reporting ServiceThe cabinet report stated that if the council did not award funding, there was "a strong possibility that [Guinness] will not be able to deliver the scheme".
It added: "The inclusion of a new neighbourhood police facility is essential to the delivery of the overall development including the 104 affordable homes."It will also benefit the wider community as the police facility will serve Bristol East."
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