05 December 2008
By Neil Merrick A new system of charging developers for the knock-on effects of extra housing should raise up to £280m per year more for council services, says a new study. The assessment of the community infrastructure levy, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government on December 1, suggests the cost of implementing it over ten years will be between £4.8bn and £6.9bn, including the cost to developers of paying the charge. Over the same period, it says, the levy should raise between £6.2bn and £9.7bn, assuming extra economic growth. The net benefit will range between £1.4bn and £2.8bn – depending on take-up by local authorities and the rate at which the CIL is set. Under the new Planning Act, which received royal assent on November 27, the levy can be charged by councils on a voluntary basis from October 2009. Ministers claim that it will provide developers with greater certainty and speed up developments, with the DCLG study assuming that between 2,500 and 5,000 extra homes are built annually. Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said: ‘We can begin to create the faster, fairer planning system we need to reduce our fossil fuel addiction and build a new generation of renewable energy infrastructure sources.’
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