Last year, the projects then-backer, developer Weston Homes, pulled the plug on the 1,100-home development on the site of an ageing shopping centre, pointing the finger at the previous Conservative government for its demise.Despite winning approval in 2023 for revised proposals the scheme was a redesign of rejected plans featuring a controversial 20-storey tower the developer said it had been forced to scrap the development early last year. Weston Homes said a multitude of issues had affected the schemes viability (see below) and had made funding extremely difficult, adding that it had wasted eight years and 7.5 million on the project.Now Norwich City Council, which bought Anglia Square last month, is set to press ahead at pace with the existing Broadway Malyan consent, thanks to substantial financial support from Homes England.AdvertisementEarlier this month the local authority was given further funds from Homes England worth 19 million, bringing the total received from the government to 34 million. The monies cover the councils costs for acquisition, demolition, remediation [and] bringing forward the development of Anglia Square.But, given that the project is now publicly backed, it seems likely any future design roles will have to be retendered. The number of affordable homes within the scheme could also change.A council spokesperson said: The council is working through a delivery strategy for Anglia Square and intends to work with the existing approved planning permission at pace which would involve appointing architects in due course.The approved scheme, drawn up for developer Weston Homes and site owner Columbia Threadneedle, will flatten a 1960s shopping centre to make way for 14 buildings ranging from three to eight storeys tall.Although lower and with a 35 per cent smaller reduction in the developments overall floorspace compared with the rejected 2020 scheme, the contentious hybrid application had still come in for criticism from heritage campaigners and even prompted a rival proposal by SAVE Britains Heritage and architect Ash Sakula.Speaking about the latest injection of Homes England money, councillor Mike Stonard, leader of Norwich City Council, said: This is a fantastic start to the New Year. It means, thanks to the government, we have the funding to crack on and start building the new Anglia Square with hundreds of affordable homes for local people.Norwich has always been innovative, progressive and has been at the vanguard of change over the years and now we are leading the way in building hundreds of new homes.Visualisation of Broadway Malyans approved 2023 plans for 1,100 homes at Anglia SquareThe seven reasons Weston Homes walked away from Anglia SquarePlanning delays and related costs due to national government intervention in the proposed scheme, including Robert Jenrick's decision to call in and overturn the local planning consent followed by a further 12 months of local community and key stakeholder consultation on the reworked designsThe economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the viability of the proposed office and retail space within the scheme, with the rise in homeworking and digital retailing reducing market demand for commercial space and retail unitsFurther delays caused by the Nutrient Neutrality directive from Natural England, which blocked the building of new homes across NorfolkA potential reduction in the 15 million of Marginal Viability Funding promised from Homes Englands Housing Infrastructure Fund. Due to the planning delays, the funding rules meant only 7 million could be released.Huge build cost inflation of more than 30 per cent, which increased the calculated construction costs of the site and has made the schemes viability even more marginal over the last 18 monthsThe 5.4 million Community Infrastructure Levy tax billDesign guidelines in the governments Building Safety Act (2022) resulting in the loss of another 100 homes within the proposed scheme, due to the required redesign of the various buildings.