ONE of the biggest regeneration developments in Wales will have the amount of required affordable housing halved to protect the viability of the scheme.

Around 750 new homes have been built or approved at the site known as Glan Llyn in Newport, as part of a redevelopment of the former Llanwern Steelworks approved in 2010.

But an independent assessment from a district valuer found the site is 'unviable' with a requirement for 20 per cent affordable housing.

Councillors reluctantly agreed this would be cut to 10 per cent at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday.

But Cllr Miqdad Al-Nuaimi raised concerns over the drop in affordable housing amid rising house prices in Newport.

South Wales Argus:

He said: "This site was looked at as a key site that was going to deliver a lot of regeneration in Newport and the affordable housing element was an important part of it.

"Newport was confirmed in the last couple of days as the second highest place in the UK for increasing house prices.

"Here we are talking about thousands of houses, so I can't understand why viability suddenly has plummeted."

Geraint Roberts, from the council's planning department, said the reduction in affordable homes was "not desirable but necessary."

Mr Roberts said "contamination issues" on the site had brought additional costs to developers.

The meeting heard two developments on the site are coming to an end and that "on-going uncertainty over the level of contributions the council requires" may have contributed to more housing developers not coming forward.

Cllr Al-Nuaimi questioned whether there was any guarantee that cutting the affordable housing requirement would lead to more homes being built, though.

And Mr Roberts said there was no guarantee but that developers were "profit seekers rather than just housebuilders."

"What we are saying is if these changes are agreed the expectation is developers will continue to be interested in this site," he added.

Changes to the section 106 agreement also include omitting the provision of a library and police station as part of the scheme.

Contributions for new bus services will also be halved from £1million to £500,000.

South Wales Argus:

Cllr John Richards, of Newport Council, with Ben Cook, of St Modwen, marking the start of work of the first St Modwen Homes in Wales at Newport’s Glan Llyn development

Tim Gent, from Savills, said the benefits of the regeneration scheme were still 'unparalleled.'

"It's difficult to exaggerate the significance of Glan Llyn," he said.

"As one of Wales' biggest regeneration schemes it provides a new neighbourhood on a gateway to the city and a clear signal of what we can achieve."

The £1bn development has a target of delivering 1,337 homes by 2021, though a council report says it is now 'unlikely' that this will be met.