Waverley Borough Council has agreed to spend £7.5 million to buy 13 affordable flats despite opposition concerns over their value.

The decision comes as it continues with the 69 High Street project in the centre of Godalming – that also included plans to turn the front of the former M&Co building into a cafe.

The council argued the overall project, which has soared to £11.2 million, is a rare opportunity to build much needed affordable town centre housing.

It says that despite the heavy upfront costs, the project would eventually wash its own face and claw back the money – while providing years of social benefits and bring more people into the town centre.

The decision passed by the narrowest margin possible with 18 councillors voting down the plans to 19 in favour.

Critics wanted to see the land sold to private developers to bank a windfall rather than fork out  the “eye-watering” £576,000 per flat.

Councillors also disliked being asked to approve the budget without having sight of the layouts or proposed plans. 

Once built the homes would be made available for rent at 70 percent of the market value.

Cllr Janet Crowe, co-portfolio holder for housing delivery, said: “I am very aware that there have been concerns expressed about best value and I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that best value goes wider than just figures on a spreadsheet.

“We also have to take into consideration…the social value and this should not be seen as some sort of an accidental by-product but as a starting point for all our homes.”

Selling the land would would mean the rare opportunity to develop affordable housing in Godalming would be lost, she said.

While making up the shortfall by buying homes off the private market would result in  smaller flats that were unlikely to meet the council’s targets on sustainability – furthermore, supporters said, the running costs of homes spread across the borough would be higher than a single block.

She added: “Here we have an invaluable opportunity to build some much needed wonderful homes in our town centre. This will contribute to the ongoing regeneration of the High Street.”

Cllr Paul Follows, leader of Waverley Borough Council told the Wednesday, March 3, meeting it was increasingly rare for private developers to bring affordable homes to market  which left it to the council.

He added: “We’ve got a good couple of thousand people on the housing register.

“Tell me (where there are suitable sites available) and we will buy the housing.

“What I want to see is social housing for people to live in, different types of social housing.

“We also need housing that endures for the public good.”

Critics lashed out at how the  housing revenue account (HRA) cash was being used.

HRA comes from running a council’s own housing stock and is primarily for the benefit of the council’s own tenants.

A large source comes from money paid by council tenants in rent, which the council increased this year.

Cllr Jane Austin (Conservative: Bramley) described the project as a folly and that HRA should be used  for tenants, not redevelopment.

She said: “HRA expenditure is ringfenced for tenants, the residents who rely on the HRA, some of the most vulnerable in our borough, depend on us to safeguard that account so their homes are maintained and safe.

“When millions are written off under the banner of social value it is HRA tenants who will lose out.”

The best option, she said, would be to sell the land with planning permission for to maximise its value.

She added: “For the same cost as building these, Waverley could buy many more comparable flats on the open market and they could immediately enter the HRA and be managed  just like the rest of the portfolio.

“This is bad value, this means millions of losses to the HRA.

“This fails in every duty we have as councillors to the housing revenue account, it delivers too few homes for too much money.”

Cllr George Murray, leader of the Farnham Residents group, said: “No bank, no commercial developer, no Dragons’ Den investor would undertake this project on those terms.

“Is this the best use of public resources to deliver affordable housing for the people of Waverley?

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Cllr Murray added: “Does it deliver the greatest possible benefit to the residents of the whole of Waverley both today and in the future, unfortunately I do not think it does and therefore can not vote for the £7.5 million funding from the HRA.”