Had a few tweets this week about the flats at Anchor Industrial Estate. I share the frustration about the lack of affordable housing. However, those saying 'the policy is broken' need to take a wider view -

33% of all dwellings granted Planning since 2017 have been affordable.

And contrary to the view from *some* that Cardiff is not good at securing affordable housing, we compare very favourably to similar cities. This article is a few years old but highlights our strength (and our average % since is even higher) https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/mar/05/british-cities-developers-affordable-housing-manchester-sheffield

The article also highlights the challenges all Councils face in securing affordable housing contributions from developments. Our LDP has a target of 6,646 affordable dwellings, or 22.8% of total housing provision- so as you can see, Cardiff is currently outperforming that target.

Inevitably, we won't secure those figures on every site, which is frustrating, but often reflects the cost of remediating brownfield. The District Valuer viability process is independent, and used nationally. Rejecting an application would likely just have it overturned on appeal

Viability issues can mean sites get "land-banked" for years, which can become a real issue for communities (indeed, @ccrcitydeal have established a £35M fund to deliver 2,800 homes on unviable sites across the region https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/areas-wales-2800-new-homes-18859535), so a balanced view is needed.

Finally, no one needs to persuade me that we need affordable housing; that's why - over and above what is secured in Planning - we're pursuing the biggest Council House building scheme in Cardiff for generations - on course for 1000 units by 2022, and a further 1,500 beyond that.

It includes sites across the city (particularly areas of high need, includes a variety of properties like specialist types for older people, and includes sites where the Council acts as developer, meaning profits from the sale of private units are recycled into more Council homes

It's a transformative programme, which is already changing lives, and I'm immensely proud of it. If you're concerned about housing in Cardiff, then I'd urge you to read more about it, starting with our latest Business Plan https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s46078/Cabinet%2018%20march%202021%20HRA%20App.pdf