Community Infrastructure Levy to Exempt “Grand Designs”

Proposed changes to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) could see self build homes, “grand designs”, built by individuals, families or groups of individuals for their own use and for owner-occupation, exempt from the CIL Levy.

This is the headline grabbing proposal in a consultation launched by Planning Minister Nick Boles who said:

“For too long, self-build homes have been seen as an option for only a privileged few and we are determined to change that with proposals that have the potential to save self-builders thousands of pounds.

“Our proposals would ensure that self-build homes are exempt from this levy and will make an enormous difference to people looking to realise their dream of buying a plot of land and getting a builder to build them a home.

“We urgently need to build more homes and the proposed changes to the levy will help increase housing supply and help those businesses keen to grow.”

Alongside this measure other proposed changes include:

ensuring councils provide greater clarity on how they have set the proposed level of levy and more transparency about what developers will be charged;
allowing councils to accept levy payments in kind from developers providing infrastructure instead of cash or land to ensure timely delivery of infrastructure
ensuring that where planning permission is phased, levy payments are also phased to help get development underway as soon as possible;
enabling councils to make discount market sale housing exempt from levy charges;
removing the current vacancy test meaning the levy will not generally be payable on buildings that have been vacant for a certain amount of time but are being refurbished or redeveloped to bring them back into productive use – the levy would still be payable on abandoned buildings or vacant buildings being redeveloped with an increase in floorspace; and
allowing councils that have not adopted the levy to continue to pool contributions from different planning obligations for an extra year – this will now give councils who have not started the process of adopting the levy until April 2015 to take on board any regulatory changes that arise from this consultation.

To find out more about CIL and how the Levy could affect call us on 01282 872570.

To download the consultation document click here.

The consultation closes on the 28th of May 2013.

©Kirkwells Town Planners and Sustainable Development Consultants based at the Lancashire Digital Technology Centre in Burnley www.kirkwells.co.uk

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