Planning,
22 January 2010
Developers with outline permission and section 106 agreements in place face paying the community infrastructure levy (CIL) unless draft regulations are changed, lawyers have warned.
Consultation on the levy was completed last year, with final regulations
expected soon. Legal experts have warned that the draft document means
outline permissions will be caught if councils introduce charging
schedules before reserved matters are dealt with.
Mills & Reeve partner David Brock advised that development is chargeable
if a schedule is in effect at the time that permission is granted. But
the regulations define outline permission as being granted when the
final reserved matter is dealt with. "Any council that introduces a
charging schedule will have planning permissions caught by this," he
said.
Olswang head of planning Richard Keczkes said: "If we can go back to the
phraseology of development commencing, it would make more sense and be
much more in line with the government's policy goals."
Brock claimed that if the regulations are not amended, scheme viability
will be affected. "If you have a permission with section 106 agreed,
that should be it," he declared. "But if the permission is then caught
by CIL the planning authority will be getting some aspects twice. That
may have an effect on profitability."
DLA Piper partner Howard Bassford said: "The government needs to make it
clear that where outline permission predates CIL it will not be subject
to this provision."
