British Property Federation chief executive Liz Peace told a committee of MPs scrutinising the government’s Growth and Infrastructure Bill that, while changes to the planning regime laid out in the bill were welcome, the decision to postpone the revaluation of business rates had caused “immediate and widespread concern”.
Giving evidence to the Growth and Infrastructure Committee in the House of Commons, Peace welcomed proposals that would allow developers to make a planning application directly to the Secretary of State, end the abuse of village green legislation, and bring business and commercial projects of national significance within the Planning Act 2008 regime.
“Taken together, these proposed changes to the planning system will make it simpler and easier to navigate while providing business with confidence,” said Peace. “We don’t believe allowing planning applications to be made directly to the Secretary of State will mean the ‘death of localism’. It is more likely to be used to spur local authorities on to make decisions swiftly.
“For too long, applications have been put forward for village green status with the explicit aim of holding up or blocking legitimate development. Anything that can be done to reduce this burden while minimising nominations purely aimed at blocking development should be looked at.”
Since the publication of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, the government has faced a torrent of criticism from retailers and landlords alike regarding the decision to delay the revaluation of business rates.
Peace said: “This proposal has caused immediate and widespread concern. Current assessments are based on economic circumstances and rental values as they were at the April 2008 valuation date, since when rents have fallen in most locations.
“So, while businesses will be given two years of certainty, many will pay more than they would have done had the 2015 revaluation been allowed to continue. Broadly, the losers will be those outside of London who would have expected to see their rental values fall by more than the national average.”
samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
