Norwich Anglia Square developer quits regeneration project

More than 1,000 flats were planned by a developer who has now pulled out of the regeneration scheme for Anglia Square in Norwich

A developer has pulled out of a major regeneration scheme after spending £7.5m to get the project started.

Weston Homes cited seven key reasons behind its decision to cancel the Anglia Square redevelopment on the edge of Norwich city centre.

These included delays after the government called in the scheme for a public inquiry and funding changes.

The government has been asked to comment.

Weston Homes had spent eight years on its plans for Anglia Square, which was to include 1,100 homes and retail and leisure space, and said the government was a "core contributor in this saga".

Plans to redevelop Anglia Square in Norwich were scaled back after minister's intervention

Norwich City Council had worked with the company and had hoped the scheme would help rejuvenate the area.

Labour council leader Mike Stonard described the firm's decision as a "terrible blow for the city".

A 20-storey apartment block had formed part of the proposed redevelopment of Anglia Square

Weston Homes said the main factor that led to it pulling out was a decision by the former housing minister Robert Jenrick calling in and overturning local planning consent for the scheme.

In 2018, a scheme that included a 20-storey tower block, hotel and cinema was rejected by Mr Jenrick, who branded it "excessive".

Western Homes then revised the scheme.

The pandemic and the rise of homeworking also had a major impact on the viability of retail space, the firm said.

Inflationary pressures had seen costs rise by 30% and new funding rules had caused financial headaches too, the developer said.

Nutrient neutrality rules - which looked at the amount of pollutants caused by developments to local waterways - had also had an impact on the project, it claimed.

Concerns about the proposals from Weston Homes had been raised by some groups.

This included only 10% of homes in the plan being deemed "affordable housing", when council policy calls for 33%.

The development's impact on historic buildings was also raised by the Norwich Society and Save Britain's Heritage.

Responding to Weston's decision to pull out, Green Party councillor Jamie Osborn said: "Norwich urgently needs affordable and decent-quality housing which can provide homes for families, while respecting the city's heritage and the values of the local community.

"Any future for Anglia Square must fulfil those objectives."

Anglia Square includes the Hollywood Cinema building, which premiered the Alan Partridge film Alpha Papa in 2013, but the cinema closed about five years ago

Bob Weston, chairman and managing director of Weston Homes, said: "There are sadly no winners with this outcome.

"The core contributor to a lot of the issues in this saga is the Conservative government, which seems to have no understanding of the importance of supporting the housebuilding industry, regional cities and local communities in the UK."

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: "In November 2020, the then Secretary of State refused planning permission for the redevelopment of Anglia Square, and his reasons were set out in a published letter.

"Housebuilding, however, remains a government priority and we are on track to deliver one million homes this Parliament."