Following an examination of the draft charging schedule, the planning inspector issued his report (4-page / 121KB PDF) at the end of last month. He said the brief report reflected the thoroughness of the City Corporation’s approach, the comprehensiveness of the evidence that supports the Schedule, and the relatively few objections to it.
The draft charging schedule had set out proposed residential CIL rates of £150 per sq m in the 'Riverside' charging zone and £95 per sq m across the rest of the City. For office developments, a proposed city-wide rate of £75 per sq m had been set.
A draft nil rate levy was set to apply to medical, education and emergency services developments and a rate of £75 per sq m was proposed to apply to all other types of development across the City.
The examiner said that the Council's viability evidence submitted with the charging schedule was "comprehensive and definitive" and reflected "extensive engagement with the community in the City".
He concluded that the City Corporation had been "realistic in terms of achieving a reasonable level of income to address a demonstrable gap in infrastructure funding, while ensuring that development remains viable across the City".