Government consults on new rules to speed up housing delivery

The government has initiated a consultation on new rules for the Community Infrastructure Levy. In a move designed to speed up housing delivery in England, the government has suggested various changes to the levy, which has collected almost £1bn in developer contributions since it was introduced in 2010. The changes include a new strategic infrastructure tariff for large projects and an increase in transparency from councils on funds they have collected and spent. The proposed changes include a widening of options for how contributions can be used by councils to benefit their residents. They also seek to make sure the tax responds to changes in land values so that towns and villages receive the correct contributions for their communities. The draft measures follow on from a wider package of reforms that the government put forward in July – part of its target to deliver 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s. Click here to view the consultation documents. The consultation closes on 31 January. To send feedback, e-mail anna.ward@egi.co.uk or tweet @annaroxelana or @estatesgazette