Member Article

Planning minister pleases property industry

Planning Minister Nick Boles has revealed plans to give a quarter of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to neighbourhood groups who plan for new development.

The cash will be paid to parish and town councils that can be used to back community development projects, in a move that has pleased some of the property industry.

Mr Boles said: “This government is determined to persuade communities to accept more house-building by giving them a tangible share of the benefits it brings.

“By undertaking a neighbourhood plan that makes space for new development, communities can secure revenues to make the community more attractive for everyone.”

The minister revealed that local communities would be able to take up to 15% of the CIL – a development tax designed to fund essential infrastructure – rising to 25% if they had formed a Neighbourhood Forum and had produced an adopted Neighbourhood Plan.

Ian Fletcher, Director of Policy at the BPF, said: “Giving neighbourhoods a bigger slice of CIL will offer them a further incentive to support jobs and homes in their areas, and provide developers with greater reason to engage in the neighbourhood planning process.

“It is especially welcome that business-led neighbourhoods will now be able to direct how the portion of the CIL collected in their area is spent and so will be able to play a greater role in strengthening their local economy.

“What is crucial, however, is what CIL money is spent on, and that it is spent in a transparent and timely fashion. The status quo, where councils and communities are under no obligation to spend any CIL money on infrastructure, or to any fixed deadline, is simply not good enough. There should be some provisions to make proper use of it.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .