The examiner published his report (13-page / 233KB PDF) on the DCS last month following an examination hearing in October last year.
The Council had proposed to set residential rates of £180 per square metre within Swanage and The Coast area; £100 per sq m within Wareham and the Purbeck Rural Fringe and £30 per sq m in Upton and Purbeck Rural Central.
The examiner said that the proposed rates were deliverable and "reasonably justified" by evidence, with the exception of the rate within the Upton area, which he said would result in viability issues.
He said that a £30 per sq m rate would form 31% of the developer's return, which would be "significantly out of line with the prevailing ratios for Purbeck as a whole". The examiner recommended that the rate for Upton should be reduced to £10 per sq m, which he said would form 10% of the developer's return.
For care homes and sheltered and retirement housing the Council had proposed to set rates of £100 per sq m within Swanage and The Coast; £30 per sq m within Wareham and the Purbeck Rural Fringe and a nil rate levy in Upton and Purbeck Rural Central.
A draft district-wide rate of £75 per sq had been set for retail developments, with a draft rate of £20 per sq m for financial and professional services, restaurants and cafes, drinking establishments and hot food takeaways. The examiner concluded that those developments would be able to sustain the proposed rates and the rates would not put the developments at risk.
