Bracknell Forest CIL charging schedule approved by examiner

Following an examination hearing held in November, examiner Philip Staddon issued his report (18-page / 232 KB PDF) on the DCS last month. He said that the DCS provided an appropriate basis for the collection of the levy in the area, subject to a number of minor modifications suggested by the Council and the clarification of the scope of charges for accommodation for older people.

The Council had proposed in the DCS to set different rates for residential developments depending on their geographical locations and the number of homes proposed.

A nil rate had been proposed for all residential developments in central Bracknell. The examiner said the evidence supported the nil rate for schemes involving flats or a mix of flats and houses in the area. However, noting that some larger housing schemes and smaller schemes excluding flats would be viable with a higher charge, Staddon recommended that the Council monitored developments coming forward in the zone.

The examiner said the Council's evidence indicated that proposed rates for residential development in outer Bracknell could be supported "very comfortably" and those for homes in the northern parishes and Crowthorne/Sandhurst could be accommodated with a "degree of headroom".

The Council had proposed to charge £75 per square metre for residential schemes in outer Bracknell below the affordable housing threshold of 15 homes and £25 per sq m for those above the threshold.  The proposed rates for the northern parishes were £350 per sq m for schemes below the threshold and £220 per sq m above, and those for Crowthorne / Sandhurst were £300 per sq m and £150 per sq m.

Proposed charges of £150 per sq m for residential developments at the strategic sites of Broadmoor and the Transport Research Laboratory in Crowthorne and at Amen Corner (North), Amen Corner (South) and Blue Mountain in Binfield were considered by the examiner to be reasonable. Staddon said that the proposed residential development charge of £220 per sq m at the Warfield strategic site could be sustained "with a good element of headroom".

The examiner found the Council's proposed rates for older persons' residential accommodation to be justified. However, he recommended that the Council's terminology be altered to reflect its intention that the charges apply to a range of accommodation types, including some where care was provided. The Council had proposed a nil rate in central and outer Bracknell, a £100 per sq m charge in the northern parishes and a rate of £75 per sq m in the Crowthorne / Sandhurst area.

Staddon said that the proposed rate of £100 per sq m for convenience based supermarkets and superstores and retail warehousing developments was "well within the range that such developments could comfortably support" and would provide "a substantial viability buffer".

The Council said it intends to approve the final charging schedule in January and implement CIL in spring 2015.