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Community Infrastructure Levy concerns raised
Published: 2009-11-30 10:07:59
More concerns have been raised by developers and local authorities about the forthcoming Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
The consultative period for the proposed CIL is finished. The measure is scheduled to come into force on April 6th next year as part of the Planning Act 2008.
The CIL will be charged by local councils on developments in their areas and there is particular criticism that it could mean developers have to pay the new levy as well as existing Section 106 arrangements. This could threaten many regeneration projects, according to the Homebuilders Federation, which said: "we are very concerned that the loose terminology of additionality will be seen by some as meaning an additional contribution over and above those sums already collected through S106".
Further worries come from several London boroughs, which fear that CIL funds will be channelled to the Greater London Authority and that there is no mechanism in place to reimburse them for this cost. The legal details of CIL implementation remain unclear and Tim Smith, partner at solicitor Berwin Leighton Paisner, said: "it has long been feared by developers that CIL will further increase the pressures on them in a way that is harmful to desirable urban regeneration schemes (which) tend by their nature to be the ones most complex and expensive to deliver and so are the ones put most at risk by an increase in the financial burden".
The British Property Federation (BPF) is also concerned that developers might face problems if there is any charging ambiguity over CIL and S106. Stephen Ashworth, chair of the BPF's CIL Committee, makes it clear there should be no "double dipping" and the simple principle is that S106 should never be used to cover what could have been dealt with by CIL. The BPF approach is that all off-site infrastructure should be covered by CIL and that S106 arrangements should really be limited to cover affordable housing.