Developers who build housing and retail premises in Stratford-on-Avon District will have to pay a charge to help fund vital infrastructure as part of a new levy being proposed from 2014.
A consultation is launched this week on Thursday 31 October about the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) by Stratford-on-Avon District Council.
The CIL is a nationally prescribed mechanism allowing councils to make a charge on new development, so that the money can then be used to provide vital services such as transport, schools, community and sports facilities and other forms of infrastructure.
If agreed, the CIL would help fund the infrastructure needed to deliver the economic and housing growth set out in the Core Strategy.
The six week consultation runs until Friday 13 December and full details are available at www.stratford.gov.uk/cil2013 with hard copies available from the District Council offices in Church Street, Stratford-upon-Avon during office hours and also at libraries across the District during normal opening hours.
The consultation concerns the proposed charges to be levied on developers. The draft proposals mean that new residential development would be expected to pay a charge of £150 per square metre and new retail premises would pay £120 per square metre. A different residential rate is proposed for any new settlement or sustainable urban extension, where more of the necessary infrastructure will be paid for directly by the developers through S106 agreements. It is proposed that there should be no charge on employment, hotel and leisure developments as this is not considered to be viable at the present time. The rates will be reviewed in 3-5 years.
The consultation also presents the evidence behind the recommendations including a report on development viability and the Council's Draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
Cllr Chris Saint, Leader of Stratford-on-Avon District Council says: “The funds we raise from the Community Infrastructure Levy will make a vital contribution to providing the essential infrastructure and community facilities needed to support development proposed in the Core Strategy."
The consultation findings will feed into a second formal period of consultation next year that will also outline which items of infrastructure the Council intends to be funded by CIL and which should be paid for directly by developers through planning obligations. After this second consultation, and the processing of its findings, the Draft CIL Charging Schedule and supporting documents will be submitted for independent examination.
Following examination, it is expected the District Council will approve the CIL in time for it to be adopted and implemented alongside the Core Strategy.
The Community Infrastructure Levy will be one of several sources of funding for infrastructure. Others include funding from Central Government and Section 106 agreements, legally binding obligations for developers to make contributions to infrastructure and facilities.
The preliminary draft charging schedule under the proposed CIL for Stratford-on-Avon District is as follows. CIL would apply to residential developments of one dwelling or more, or other forms of development (including residential extensions) at least 100 square metres in size.
|
Use Type
|
Proposed Levy Rate (per sq.m )
|
|
|
|
Residential (at new settlement or sustainable urban extension)
|
£60-100
|
|
Residential elsewhere in the District
|
£150
|
|
Retail
|
£120
|
|
Industrial and office ('employment' uses)
|
£0
|
|
Hotels
|
£0
|
|
Extra Care Living
|
£0
|
|
Mixed Leisure
|
£0
|
|
Education, health, community and other uses
|
£0
|
