Out-Law News 2 min. read
24 Jan 2012, 1:08 pm
“Merton’s proposed charge of £385 per sq m for residential development in Wimbledon will grab all the headlines," said planning law expert Marcus Bate of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. "But what is particularly interesting is how this charge sits within the context of the relatively low charges, by London standards, proposed for the other charging zones in Merton. The use of differential charging rates to maximise revenue from high-value areas mirrors the approach proposed by Wandsworth for the riverfront Nine Elms Area, and suggests that simple flat-rates such as Redbridge’s may prove less popular in the capital."
"Nearby authorities with emerging plans for CIL will look on with interest as Merton’s consultation on the preliminary draft charging schedule plays out in February and March," said Bate. "The same can be expected of well-prepared developers, landowners and other authorities with high-value areas which could generate meaningful CIL revenues.”
The Preliminary Draft Schedule divides the borough into three zones: Wimbledon in the north, Raynes Park and Colliers Wood in the centre and Morden and Mitcham in the south. To accompany the top rate for Wimbledon, residential development is allocated a rate of £140 per sq m in the Colliers Wood and Raynes Park zone and £42 a sq m in Mitcham and Morden. The three zones also have a uniform rate of £100 per sq m for retail development – the same as the rate proposed by Wandsworth for retail development in most of its area - and a nil rate for all other types of development.
In the report to the Cabinet it is stated that Merton's CIL annual revenue "could average between £400,000 and £800,000".
The next stage in the process will be for the Preliminary Draft Schedule to be published for public consultation between 30 January and 23 March 2012. The Council will then consider the responses received during this period of consultation and publish a further draft of the Schedule for a second round of public consultation. The Schedule will then be submitted to an examiner for independent examination.
The Council currently aims to have adopted and implemented its Charging Schedule by June or July 2013. The rates and zones set out in the Preliminary Draft Schedule may be altered as a result of the public consultations and the independent examination.
Merton is one of a number of London boroughs that have announced an intention to adopt the CIL. To date only the London borough of Redbridge has reached the end of the CIL adoption process and has CIL in effect, although Wandsworth, Croydon and Brent have also published Charging Schedules for consultation.
The CIL is a new way of collecting developer contributions to help fund infrastructure projects. It allows local authorities to charge a tariff, at a locally set rate, on many types of new development. The money can then be used to pay for a wide range of additional infrastructure that is required as a result of development. This can include transport schemes, green infrastructure and community facilities.
