The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published a consultation on funding infrastructure with a view to quickening the pace of housing delivery in England.
The rules centre on developer contributions which help fund new roads, schools play areas and other essential infrastructure.
Financial contributions are required from developers where additional public infrastructure is needed to support the building of new homes, with the government claiming that its Community Infrastructure Levy collected almost £1bn since it was introduced in 2010.
The government says the move is part of a package of reforms to address the ‘lengthy and complex process of negotiation for councils that slows down the delivery of new homes, precisely at a time when more are needed.’
The consultation also seeks to increase the types of project that can benefit from CIL, ensuring a wider range of community priorities are eligible to receive funding.
Launching the consultation minister of state for housing Kit Malthouse says: “Communities and developers must know that vital infrastructure needed to support new homes is going to arrive – even before a shovel hits the ground.
“The billions of pounds already paid by developers has been critical in delivering the more, better, faster homes this country so desperately needs, but we must go further.
“These reforms will make the system simpler, transparent and easy to understand and will accelerate the pace of homebuilding – it’s now up to housebuilders and residents to tell us what they think.”
The draft measures, initially announced at the 2018 Autumn Budget, are part of the government’s ambition to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.
The consultation takes forward new proposals intended to:
- Introduce a new strategic infrastructure tariff, helping fund largescale projects which benefit multiple communities falling under a combined local authority.
- Widen options on how contributions can be used by councils to benefit their residents, ensuring funds are spent on a wider range of local priorities.
- Increase certainty and transparency by requiring councils to publish details on what has been collected and spent, so communities understand the benefit of development.
- Ensure the Community Infrastructure Levy responds to changes in land values, ensuring towns and village get the contributions they deserve when planning permission is granted.
