Infrastructure levy ‘to replace section 106 agreements’
0There is increasing speculation that the government plans to replace section 106 agreements with an infrastructure levy that councils can use to increase the supply of affordable housing.
The Sunday Telegraph has suggested that the government will put forward a proposal involving the axing of section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the introduction of a levy on developers. If the plans are approved by the Cabinet, a formal consultation could be launched within weeks with the proposal included in next month’s Queen’s Speech.
Local authorities currently use section 106 agreements to force developers to include a set number of affordable homes in their developments. A replacement “consolidated infrastructure levy” would charge developers a fee based on a proportion of value of their housing project and could raise around £7bn.
A levy was first proposed in 2020 as part of the government’s planning white paper. Confirmation that it was still the favoured approach came when the government responded to the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee report in January.
The response suggested that a levy would “aim to reduce complexity and uncertainty and enhance the transparency of developer contributions”.
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