Inland Homes, the brownfield developer at the centre of a planning dispute with South Bucks District Council, has set up a housing association to build homes to rent as well as shared ownership for applicants on council housing lists.

As reported in last week’s Property section, the Amersham-based housebuilder’s chief executive, Stephen Wicks, has threatened not to proceed for the time being with the planning application first submitted a year ago to build 350 homes at the former MoD site on the edge of Beaconsfield Old Town. 

Furthermore, says Mr Wicks, Inland will refuse to supply the access road into the development owned by the company. 

Minerva Way is the last piece in the jigsaw to complete the new relief road that will solve the long term problem of the peak hour traffic build up at the junction into Wilton Park.

The reason for the present impasse between local developer and local council is what Mr Wicks sees as the planners’ intransigence over the amount of social housing on the site. 

The housebuilder has offered to build 32 homes for shared ownership.  
Any more than that, he says, would leave the company out of pocket in view of the scale of infrastructure needed to redevelop the 100-acre site and the amenities that will be available for the community beyond Wilton Park. 

The planners want a good deal more than 32 affordable homes on the site and not just homes for shared ownership but also low cost homes to rent.

Meantime, while no doubt both sides have been considering how to get the redevelopment of Wilton Park back on track (a Buckinghamshire Brexit in negotiating terms) it emerged this week that Inland has become one of the first publicly-listed companies in the UK registered as a “for profit provider of social housing” by the government’s official regulator.

The revelation came on Wednesday, the day Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to spend a further £2 billion to increase the supply of social sector housing both to rent as well as shared ownership.

In an announcement to the City, Inland stated that Rosewood Housing, the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, has been registered following a two-year qualification period. 

“As the company looks to further diversify its housing proposition, it  gives Inland Homes the authorisation to build new homes on more of its sites once planning consent has been received.

“The company will develop, hold and manage… a blend of shared ownership and social housing units for rent, that need to remain within the regulated sector while owned by a registered provider.  

“In particular the company expects to generate visible and attractive income from shared ownership staircasing whereby residents can buy further shares in their property once they have lived in it for a certain period of time.”

“This is a significant milestone for Inland Homes,” commented the CEO. 

This Friday’s print edition of the BFP contains an ad placed by Inland asking former residents who lived in the 16-storey tower block – the “Wilton Hilton” - during the 40 years when the site was the MoD School of Languages to get in touch.   

Mr Wicks told the BFP the object was to verify for legal purposes that the 150-letting bedrooms and NAAFI restaurant in the tower were indeed provided to accommodate students. 

He explained: “The MoD didn’t need to obtain planning permission to build the tower. 

“We need what’s called ‘a certificate of lawfulness’ in lieu of past planning consent to enable us to include the building in our future plans for the redevelopment.”