Some measures could indirectly benefit lower carbon energy technologies and micro-generation.
Only four pages out of 282 in the documents are specifically devoted to housing and community development, which includes detail of £1.7 billion of targeted funding over the CSR07 period for infrastructure in Growth Areas, the Thames Gateway, New Growth Points and eco-towns - including £300 million to continue the Community Infrastructure Fund.”
In her own statement on the PBR/CSR07Communities housing minister Yvette Cooper highlighted the Government intention “to legislate in the forthcoming Planning Reform Bill for a new statutory planning charge to enable councils to capture greater levels of planning gain to support new infrastructure and housing. This investment will be in addition to section 106 agreements, the £1.7b targeted infrastructure investment to support growing areas from the Communities and Local Government comprehensive spending review, and the additional mainstream support for infrastructure investment.”
Environment secretary Hilary Benn commented: “For individuals, we are working to make energy-efficient goods cheaper and more easily available, and we’re leading the charge in Europe to cut VAT for the most efficient products, which would make a difference to every household in the country.”
In her statement, Ms Cooper also stressed that: “For new homes and communities to be sustainable, we also need to invest in the infrastructure needed to support the people who live in them-transport, hospitals, schools and community spaces. Through the planning system local communities can secure a contribution to this infrastructure from developers, via section 106 agreements. But only a small proportion of all developments currently contribute to the costs of infrastructure in this way. The current system is also limited in the extent to which it is able to mitigate the cumulative impacts of development on infrastructure, and local authority use of these powers varies significantly. Therefore a new mechanism which properly addresses these concerns is required.”
She added: “The Government also believe that it is right and fair that local communities should benefit more from the uplifts in land value arising from planning permission to finance the infrastructure needed to support housing growth,” commenting that ministers welcomed the “clear recognition on the part of the development industry that it is right that they should contribute more to the costs of infrastructure needed to support housing delivery.”
Many in the industry-including the British Property Federation, the Home Builders Federation, London First and the Major Developers Group have supported proposals for planning charges, building on the current section 106 approach and the tariff models developed by Milton Keynes and other areas, she said, adding the Local Government Association has also supported a similar approach.
The new provisions would empower local authorities to apply standard planning charges for all new development in their areas to support infrastructure delivery, she said. Subject to low de minimis thresholds, residential and commercial development will be liable to pay the planning charge.
Planning charge policies in development plans will be “tested through the development plan process”, in consultation with developers, stakeholders and the community to ensure they support the viability of new development and levels of new housing required, she said.
The PBR chapter 7** on a more secure, fair and environmentally sustainable world unveils the creation of an Environmental Transformation Fund of £1.2 billion over
the CSR07 period, to support the demonstration and deployment of new energy
and efficiency technologies in the UK, which could kick-start projects helping to increase energy sustainability in buildings.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr/reviews/pbr_csr07_king_index.cfm **PBR/CSR chapter 7 on sustainability at:http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pbr_csr/report/pbr_csr07_repindex.cfm