A revised community infrastructure levy is at the heart of a new manifesto set out by the British Property Federation two months ahead of the general election.
The manifesto, unveiled by BPF chief executive Melanie Leech, calls on the new government to make CIL more flexible by allowing local authorities and developers to agree bespoke contributions for large schemes while ensuring they can retain the funds raised to spend on infrastructure.
The BPF was instrumental in the introduction of CIL in the 2008 Planning Act but the industry body believes the policy has become complex
and unwieldy, contrary to its original intention.
Leech said the new manifesto, which makes 12 key recommendations, would “form the platform for our engagement with the next government and the 2015 intake of new MPs”.
“If we want to deliver significant regeneration projects, the government needs to introduce more flexibility to CIL,” she added.
The manifesto also calls for reform on business rates, tax increment financing and council tax bands.
Savills sounds the CIL alarm
Only one in four local authorities will have a CIL charging schedule in place by the 6 April deadline, according to research by Savills.
After this date, developers could find themselves in planning limbo, unable to mitigate their schemes.
Charlie Collins, Savills’ national CIL co-ordinator, said: “In the absence of a clear solution to these issues, there are very significant risks of delay to housing delivery.”
