New offices, homes and a multi-storey car park will be built in Aylesbury, despite concerns over the environmental friendliness of some units.
The development on land off Gatehouse Road is expected to see buildings including Lloyds TSB and Europcar demolished.
Up to 83 new homes, 10,000 sq metres of offices, live work units and a 225-space multi-storey car park, to be used by district council staff in place of the existing surface car park, will be built after councillors approved the scheme.
However, since the original plans were proposed developers have said some of the new homes will not be as energy efficient as originally thought. Developers said the extra cost of achieving the target energy efficiencies for 48 homes would be £582,000, which they say ‘would make the scheme unviable and therefore result in this affordable housing scheme not being delivered’.
Lib Dem Councillor David Vick said he was disappointed with the change and that it was the wrong way to go.
But Tory Councillor Netta Glover said she was sure the site would still be as energy efficient as possible, adding: “I think they will be splendid houses and people will be jolly pleased to have them.”
Councillor Tim Mills, Conservative, said in an ideal world they would push the developers to stick with the original target, but said because of the recession ‘our hands are rather tied’.