Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

Birmingham considers consultation on lowered CIL charges in draft charging schedule

12 Sep 2014, 3:33 pm

Birmingham City Council's cabinet is due to vote on whether to open consultation into a community infrastructure levy (CIL) draft charging schedule (DCS) that proposes rates significantly lower than those proposed in a preliminary draft charging schedule published in November 2012.

In a DCS (25-page / 1.6 MB PDF) due to be considered at a meeting of the Council's cabinet on 15 September, the Council proposes to set two different charging rates for residential development. Residential developments in the "value zones 1, 2 and 3", which are not further defined in the document, will be charged a proposed rate of £69 per square metre, and those in "value zones 4, 5, 6, and 7" will pay a nil rate levy.

The DCS proposes a rate of £260 per sq m for convenience retail developments of greater than 1,500 sq m, with a nil rate proposed for all other retail developments. All retail within the proposed sustainable urban extension (SUE) to the east of Sutton Coldfield will be charged a nil rate.

A rate of £69 per sq m has been proposed for student housing in all areas of the city except the SUE, where a nil rate will be applied. Hotel developments within Birmingham city centre will be charged a proposed rate of £27 per sq m, with a nil rate applying in the rest of the city.

The DCS proposes a nil rate for all other development.

The proposed rates represent a significant reduction to those presented in the preliminary draft charging schedule (PDCS) (7-page / 535 KB PDF) published by the Council in November 2012. The PDCS had set out rates of up to £115 per sq m for residential development, £380 per sq m for retail, £115 per sq m for student housing and £45 for hotels.

Charges had also been proposed for office and leisure developments, which will both be charged a nil rate under the latest plans.