More detailed plans for the Community Infrastructure Levy to be applied to new residential developments have been released by DCLG, looking at how the CIL will be set, spent, who will pay, who will be exempted, and crucially for sustainable building how it will relate to planning obligations.

The document says that introduction of the CIL will not mean the end of s.106 planning obligations altogether as yet, but it is hoped that CIL will gradually introduce an approach more in line with the Government’s sustainable community policies, with major implications for sustainable building.

The CIL, included in the current Planning Bill, seeks to widen the options for local authorities that currently rely on fragmentary imposition of planning obligations on larger developments underpinned legally by section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. DCLG says “the Bill provides that the Regulations may set out what is meant by infrastructure”, adding that “the Government will seek to ensure that the things usually thought of as infrastructure,  such as transport and flood defences, are covered by the definition”.

In addition to community facilities such as transport links, schools, parks and health centres, DCLG includes “flood defences to protect development from the impact of climate change”, and proposes all be included in a new definition of social and environmental infrastructure.

The need for a CIL is partly due to the fact that “there has been some criticism of planning obligations for delaying the planning process and for reducing its transparency, certainty and accountability”. While the Government has sought to rationalize such policies and reduce uncertainties by encouraging local publication of obligations in planning policies, providing model agreements and promoting use of standard charges, it is clear more needs to be done.

However, more critically, the DCLG also points out that “under the current system, only 14% of all residential planning permissions make any contribution to the cost of supporting infrastructure, and these generally cover the largest schemes”, despite the fact that even minor developments can result in the need for more infrastructure and services in an area.
DCLG says the new Levy will give councils “the power to set charges to pay for infrastructure when a new development takes place, which is expected to unlock hundreds of millions of pounds more for local infrastructure and services”.

u www.communities.gov.uk/documents/planningandbuilding/pdf/674479