Barnet Council to increase the money it makes from developments UK News

The Barnet Council aims to get more money from development programs and spend it on bigger projects.

A planned overhaul of the Community Infrastructure Tax (CIL) – the funding the council receives from developers to pay for roads, schools and other infrastructure – would drop it from £ 135 to £ 300 per square meter for programs housing.

CIL funding for advisers to spend on projects is expected to increase from £ 450,000 to £ 1.2 million per year, and a limit on the amount spent per program will be removed.

Councilors approved the changes – the majority of which won all-party support – at a policy and resources committee meeting on Monday.

Council leader Cllr Dan Thomas (Conservative, Finchley Church End) told the meeting: “A few years ago I said I wanted all residents to benefit from the product of growth.

“These proposals will increase the amount of CIL funding spent locally. This will give more power to spend locally, (and) it will bring decisions closer to the communities in which CIL will be spent.

“I think we should go beyond park benches and play equipment with the local CIL. It would be nice to have exciting projects proposed, supported and funded locally. ”

For retail projects, the CIL fee would drop from £ 135 to £ 202 per square meter under the plans. This amount would also apply to hotels, while £ 20 per square meter would be levied on leisure and employment spaces.

A separate funding pot of up to £ 300,000 per year will be allocated to road safety and parking programs.

Union advisers suggested that CIL’s charges be reviewed more often, as the last review was in 2013. Cllr Alison Moore (Labor, East Finchley) warned that the long period of time could be “at the expense of the” arrondissement ”and called for the next assessment to be“ timely ”.

Opposition advisers also raised concerns that removing the funding cap could lead regional committees to spend too much on a particular project at the start of the year and have little to spend on other projects. later.

In response, Cllr Thomas said he wanted the advisers to work together to manage committee budgets.

Changes to the CIL pricing schedule must be approved by the Government Planning Inspectorate. If approved, they should be approved by the full board and come into effect later this year or early next year.