The Council proposes in the DCS (6-page / 31KB PDF) that residential developments in Taunton will be subject to a rate of £70 per square metre.
The residential rate is reduced from a proposed rate of £80 per sq m in the PDCS. The Council said in a report (46-page / 284KB PDF) that the lowered rate allowed the Council to demonstrate that it is avoiding setting a charge "right up to the margin of economic viability".
A proposed zero rate levy will apply to residential developments in Taunton town centre as well as in Wellington, including urban extensions. The PDCS had proposed that Wellington urban extensions would be subject to a rate of £25 per sq m, but the Council said it had changed this to reduce the risk to "key elements" such as affordable housing.
The Council said that applying a zero rate levy in Taunton town centre would ensure that delivery of brownfield sites in the town centre, which it said are "key to the delivery of the Core Strategy and Project Taunton regeneration schemes", would not be rendered unviable by the levy.
For residential developments outside Taunton and Wellington the proposed rate, which remains unchanged from the proposed rate in the PDCS, is £125 per sq m.
For retail developments, a zero rate levy is proposed to apply in Taunton and Wellington town centres and a rate of £140 per sq m is proposed to apply outside the town centres. The PDCS had proposed retail rates ranging between £180 per sq m and £300 per sq m depending on type and size of the development.
The Council said it had simplified the proposed retail charges to avoid the risk of legal challenge to charges based on "size of retail unit, distinctions between stores selling comparison and convenience goods, or ‘high street’ and ‘bulky goods’ types of retailing".
All other developments will be subject to a proposed zero rate levy.
The consultation will run until 15 March. The Council said it hopes to adopt CIL after examination of its charging schedule in the summer.
