Cow Green, Halifax
Aligning build to rent viability, design and regeneration in a deliverable town centre strategy
At Cow Green, the Build to Rent model was central to the planning balance rather than simply a description of tenure.
Placefirst’s proposals involved the redevelopment of Cow Green Car Park, a 0.34-hectare site in Halifax town centre. The scheme comprised 122 one- and two-bedroom apartments in a nine-storey building, with access, parking and landscaping.
As a solely Build to Rent scheme, the proposal was exempt from the national expectation that 10% of homes should be available for affordable home ownership. It nevertheless engaged the expectation for affordable private rent. The viability evidence showed that a policy-compliant package of affordable housing and other contributions could not be supported without undermining delivery.
Scale was also important. The nine-storey form raised heritage considerations, but a smaller scheme would have affected capacity, parking, servicing, amenity space and landscaping. The case therefore needed to explain how the scheme’s form and tenure related to deliverability.
Maddox Planning led the planning process from pre-application engagement through to determination. We prepared the Planning and Heritage Statement, Statement of Community Involvement and supplementary response to representations, coordinated validation and the consultant team, and responded to design, heritage, viability and transport matters.
Our strategy connected the need for professionally managed, long-term rented homes with the regeneration benefits of bringing an underused brownfield site back into productive use. We also explained how the proposed scale supported the scheme’s operational requirements and why viability needed to be considered alongside its housing and regeneration benefits.
The Council’s independent review accepted that policy-compliant affordable housing and other contributions would undermine viability. Planning permission was granted on 28 February 2023.
The project illustrates how Build to Rent can affect affordable housing, viability, design and the planning balance together. At Cow Green, Maddox Planning brought those issues into a coordinated strategy that secured permission for a significant town-centre scheme.