KnowHOW Essential reading for commercial property professionals who need to be in the know CHESHIRE EAST COUNCIL COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY - LATEST DRAFT PROPOSALS SEPTEMBER 2017Cheshire East Council has released its Draft Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedule which, if approved by Cabinet on 12 September, will be subject to six weeks of consultation. The latest draft has been subject to extensive revisions, with the charges across the majority of the Borough significantly reduced, as set out below: Alongside Zone 1 where no levy was to be charged in the preliminary schedule, the only other area to see no change is Zone 5, which encompasses greenfield sites in the northern parts of the Borough such as Wilmslow and Knutsford. Elsewhere the reductions have been significant, averaging approximately 37%. Importantly, unlike the preliminary schedule, this version also assesses a number of Local Plan Strategic Sites in detail. The results of this work are significant, with a number of Strategic Sites now either benefiting from a zero rating or a significantly reduced one. This reflects the fact that values in much of the central and southern parts of the Borough cannot support the amount of CIL previously proposed. As well as revisions to the proposed charges, amendments have also been made to the Draft Regulation 123 List, which sets out how CIL monies would be spent. The Council has chosen to omit some infrastructure proposals previously included in favour of continuing to utilise S106 agreements. CIL will be used for transport, education, health and recreation/sporting facilities, whilst s106 agreements will still be used for site specific transport and education improvements as well. The Council has produced a CIL Position Statement which sets out how double counting will be avoided. CommentaryRepresentations by HOW and GDS to the Preliminary Schedule were clear that the charges sought and the methodology utilised needed to be reviewed as it was not considered to be robust. CEC’s proposed amendments are welcomed, subject to further analysis which HOW and GDS will be undertaking in coming weeks on behalf of the client consortium. The Council currently anticipates adopting CIL in Spring 2018 following formal Examination in January. However this will be subject to feedback to the forthcoming consultation and changes to CIL due to be announced by the Government in the Autumn Budget Statement, taking account of recommendations in the Housing White Paper. There is some potential for the timetable for adoption to slip into the middle of next year and for further changes to be undertaken. In the meantime however HOW and GDS will be scrutinising these current draft proposals and if you would like to join the consortium or would like our assistance in making representations, please get in touch. One sure way to avoid CIL is for a planning permission to be granted over the relevant land before the Charging Schedule comes into force. We would be delighted to assist in gaining planning permissions on behalf of clients with a view to sheltering their land from CIL over the coming months, though swift action is clearly required.
Richard Barton |