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Items
No. Item

34.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

35.

Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Minutes:

Full Council was asked to approve the recommendations of the Cabinet at its meeting on 10 January 2020 to adopt for publication and implement the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedules as appended to the report as Appendix 1. This followed the successful examination in public which took place on 5 November 2019 and the Examiners report, appended as Appendix 2 to the report, which was received on 13 December 2019.

 

At its meeting on 10 January, in addition to those outlined in the report, Cabinet recommended a further recommendation for approval by Council. This was tabled at the meeting and was as below:

 

"That on site developments of 400 housing units or more where the actual deliverability of the Council’s housing targets is being placed at risk by the failure of the developer to accept liability for the delivery of the approved scheme and  contributions towards specified infrastructure elements, which are directly related to the housing development in question, when there is a compelling need for such in the public interest, and when the Council has provided a clear statement of justification and cost-estimate for the said work or contribution, the Council affirms its intention to use its Compulsory Purchase Powers for proper planning purposes.

 

Furthermore, on housing development sites where viability calculations rely on forward estimates of sale prices for the market housing units, the Council will incorporate in relevant Section 106 agreements its entitlement to a positive claw-back of a proportion of any sale values in excess of the aforementioned forward estimates."

 

The reason for the additional recommendation was that CIL was charged on a £s per square metre basis which related to developments of 100 square metres or more and every net new home and the Council was setting a threshold whereby developments of 400 homes or more or on sites of 10 hectares or more will be CIL zero rated. On these developments, financial contributions would be negotiated and legally bound through Section 106 and Section 278 agreements.

 

Following a question from a Member highlighting the concerns the Department of Education raised in their representation regarding the charge of £35 per square metre for education development and thedefinition of the category ‘large sites’ within the Draft Charging Schedule, the Cabinet Member advised that whilst retaining their objection to the charge of £35 per square metre for education development, the Department of Education had welcomed the removal of the 4,000/40,000 square metre criteria from the definition of the category ‘large sites’.  He explained that the Council intends to impose a rate of £35 per square metre on all non-residential /retail development, some of which may well be at the margins of viability but that the key point was that CIL charges would be unlikely to exceed 1.5% of development costs for most non-residential uses.

 

The CIL could be levied on a number of private developments falling within Use Class D1, such as private hospitals and schools. Development by charities for charitable purposes may by application to the Council receive mandatory relief from CIL. The Inspector had reported that given the marginal or lack of viability for some uses, that the application of £35 per square metre rate across the board should be reviewed after 12 months.

 

In response to a question about the CIL Payments Instalments Policy and what would happen if a developer who was paying the levy charge in instalments went bankrupt before all the instalments had been paid, the Cabinet Member reported that the levy was a charge on the land and therefore the money would be recoverable.

 

It was moved by Councillor J Read, seconded by B Gibbs and

 

RESOLVED that

 

  1. the Charging Schedule be adopted and the Community Infrastructure Levy be implemented on 17 February;

 

  1. the decision on whether to accept an offer of transfer of land in payment or part payment of a CIL liability be delegated to the Acting Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development;

 

  1. any decisions required for Parts 7 Application of CIL, Part 8 Administration of CIL, Part 9 Enforcement of CIL and Part 10 Appeals be delegated to the Acting Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development;

 

  1. the decision to take proceedings in relation to any CIL offence be delegated to the Acting Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services

 

  1. it be noted that these delegations novate to the relevant officers and Portfolio Holders of Buckinghamshire Council.

 

  1. the Council affirms its intention to use its Compulsory Purchase Powers for proper planning purposes on site developments of 400 housing units or more where the actual deliverability of the Council’s housing targets is being placed at risk by the failure of the developer to accept liability for the delivery of the approved scheme and contributions towards specified infrastructure elements, which are directly related to the housing development in question, when there is a compelling need for such in the public interest, and when the Council has provided a clear statement of justification and cost-estimate for the said work or contribution. Furthermore, on housing development sites where viability calculations rely on forward estimates of sale prices for the market housing units, the Council will incorporate in relevant Section 106 agreements its entitlement to a positive claw-back of a proportion of any sale values in excess of the aforementioned forward estimates.