In its response to the Government's consultation on regulatory reforms of CIL, which ended yesterday, the BPF said that it welcomed reform but warned that the Government needs to ensure that the levy focuses on economic growth and introduces "speed and certainty" to the sector.
BPF chief executive Liz Peace said that it would not be a "huge surprise" to see local authorities which have adopted CIL rates having to reset their levy at a "more realistic" rate in the near future.
Peace said that proposals to move the date for transition to CIL a year back to April 2015 could go "a step further" and extend the date to April 2016. She said that this would allow charging authorities to prepare a "sound evidence base" which balances infrastructure needs and costs with development viability.
Peace said that the BPF "strongly supports" proposals to allow land payments, infrastructure provision or a combination of both in lieu for the levy. She said that this would, in principle, follow the same approach as section 106 obligations and would allow for developers to be in control of the delivery of "scheme-critical" infrastructure.
Peace warned that proposals to remove the "vacancy test" so that CIL would not be payable on buildings which have been vacant for a period of time would not work in practice.
She said that, although the BPF agrees that the test should be removed, it would be better to introduce a 'test of lawful use'. This would ensure that CIL would be paid on increases in floor space in refurbished or redeveloped buildings, she said.
Nathanial Lichfield & Partners, said: "While work remains to be done on CIL, it's reassuring that Government continues to examine the fundamentals and change the details of how the levy is operated," said planning consultancy Nathanial Lichfield & Partners senior associate director Margaret Baddeley in a statement. "This consultation goes a long way towards ironing out the development industry's key concerns."
"There is still more that could be done however, to ensure a proper balance between the right infrastructure being provided at the right time and it being funded by the right levels of CIL that do not undermine development viability. We are not there yet," Baddeley said.