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Preparing for CIL : the Need for a More Rounded Ap...

Last week’s Planning article on the first wave Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedules (Variable Rates, pp20-21) makes for interesting reading. A lot of the discussion in recent months has been on the scale of the levy to be charged and the article summarises the different rates being proposed across the six most advanced CIL areas. These include a proposal for a £70/m2 flat rat...
Warning: the environment can seriously improve you...

In the last week two major publications have appeared: the UK National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) and the Natural Environment White Paper. The NEA is the world’s first attempt to place a monetary value on the natural environmental at a national level. There isn’t space to do justice to this monumentally vast (2,000 page!) document. But it is worth looking at its main findings and the implicatio...
BDUK Round 2 Reflections and Forward Look

The dust is now settling on the latest announcement from the second round of BDUK announcements . Congratulations clearly due to the winners and commiserations (for now) to the losers. The three winners are now starting the hard work of turning their bids into concrete plans which attract private sector interest and command what looks like some substantial leverage. Exact figures will be finali...
New Enterprise Zones – worth all the fuss?

The dust has settled a little after the 2011 Budget and what’s happening about Enterprise Zones has become a little clearer. I’ve had a good look at the EZ Prospectus published by DCLG and read between the lines (see http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/1872724.pdf). What’s the scale of EZs this time round? The Government has announced that there will 21 EZs in England...
Is the Mayor’s Regeneration Fund really a riot r...

Last week the GLA and the Mayor of London launched London’s new Regeneration Fund; a direct response to the August riots pledging “£70m towards major long term improvements to the damaged town centres and high streets. The fund is focused both on the boroughs affected, and where there is potential to drive growth and prosperity.” Funding has been allocated to 8 areas, with the most significant i...
CIL – The Current State of Play

In August we published our first blog on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). With four local authorities with CIL either implemented or approved (London Borough of Redbridge, Newark and Sherwood, Shropshire and Portsmouth) and several others with draft charging schedules going through the consultation and approval process, the detail of future developer contributions is now starting to take...