East Cambridgeshire proposes changes in draft Charging Schedule

The Council has proposed  a  zero rate  for business development and equine-related development and has changed the description of retail development for the higher rate threshold in response to feedback on its preliminary draft Charging Schedule.

The Council has proposed a zero rate to replace the original £10 per metre square levy proposed on business development in its new draft Charging Schedule (18-page / 2.3MB PDF). This was done in response to concerns that an imposition of charges in the current economic climate is likely to push development unacceptably close to the margins of viability, the Council said.

Following an additional review of the viability appraisal information on business development, the Council now proposes a levy of £0 per m sq.

The Council has also changed the description of retail development, following consultation on its preliminary draft charging schedule. This amendment was made to clarify that retail charges apply to extensions and units. The Council proposes to express the threshold as "gross floorspace", rather than "sales floorspace".

A threshold of 200 units for "large scale major development sites" has been removed, as development specific facilities may be required on schemes of varying sizes, the Council said. Reference has also been included to the use of Section 106 agreements to secure site-specific mitigation and development-specific infrastructure.

The Council also  proposes to reduce the residential levy charge for Ely by £20 per m sq, following  concerns that the Ely residential sales values in the viability appraisal were too high. The proposed levy for residential development in Ely is now £70 per sq m. There will now be three residential charging zones under the proposed changes.

The Council also proposes a zero rate for the proposed levy on equine-related development, which was previously set at £30 per m sq  in the draft.

"The exploratory approach identified that some forms of equestrian related development were effectively uneconomic to develop and very specialised in nature, so having marketable potential that was difficult to identify and consider," the viability assessment said.

The consultation will be open for comments until 31 May.