Key Facts

• Clause 99 aims to insert proposed new section 93G into the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
• Amendments 74, 75, and 76 aim to correct cross-references and ensure legal accuracy in development commencement notices.
• The amendments are necessary for clause 99 to work as intended without ambiguity.
• South Shields has a derelict building that has been left uncompleted since February 2017.
• Local authorities have limited powers under sections 94 to 96 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to deal with stalled development sites.
• Amendment 170 proposes two fundamental changes to clause 100, including a shorter completion notice deadline below the current 12-month minimum in certain circumstances.
• Completion notices are rarely used; only 13 were served since 2011.
• The current requirement for Secretary of State confirmation adds an average of three months to the process.
• Clause 100 will remove this confirmation requirement and introduce a new right of appeal.
• Amendment 116 and New Clause 36 aim to require financial resources from the Secretary of State.
• The provisions cover Chapter 5 of Part 3, which includes enforcement measures under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.
• Local authority resources for planning have declined due to central Government funding cuts.
• There has been a marked decline in issuing planning contravention and enforcement notices over the past decade.
• Some local authorities are considering removing their planning enforcement services budgets altogether or reducing them to essential services only.
• Clause 103 provides local planning authorities in England with a power to issue enforcement warning notices.
• New clause 36 aims to strengthen enforcement powers available to local planning authorities.
• Amendment 73 extends new section 174(2AA)(b) to cases involving the Secretary of State.
• Amendment 137 aims to prevent regulations from providing relief for planning conditions related to affordable housing.
• York faces a severe shortage of affordable homes, impacting local economy and service delivery.
• Developers often prioritize high-value housing over affordable housing citing viability issues.
• Clause 108 will make permanent the powers enabling the Secretary of State to mandate pre-application consultation.
• The powers have been used only for onshore wind turbines with two or more turbines or hub heights over 15 metres.
• The Government intends to explore additional opportunities for using these powers through secondary legislation.
• Amendment 142 would make the Infrastructure Levy application optional.
• Amendment 143 would give charging authorities discretion to determine whether IL is more effective than CIL.
• Amendments 145 and 146 would provide discretion over basis of IL rates calculation.
• The statement addresses concerns about the infrastructure levy.
• Local authorities face considerable strain in their planning departments.
• The deadline for delivering basics is 2030.
• The current system requires a 50% affordable housing contribution by unit, which is often reduced to 40% through viability assessments.
• Local planning authorities may face significant challenges in assessing gross development value (GDV) and setting infrastructure levy rates accurately.
• Amendment 142 would make the infrastructure levy optional for local charging authorities.
• Amendment 143 would ensure that decisions on adopting the levy are based on effectiveness and affordability considerations.
• The Mayor of London’s threshold approach has helped to increase affordable housing levels within schemes.
• The Government is providing little detail to the Bill Committee.
• Communities are experiencing crises of housing quality, availability and affordability.
• Using GDV as a measure for the levy puts risk on the community rather than developers.
• Section 106 and the infrastructure levy offer an incremental approach that may replace a scheme delivering some affordable housing.
• Cumbria has high house prices, evaporated long-term private rented market, and many second homes.
• Clause 113 introduces schedule 11 of the Bill.
• The infrastructure levy aims to capture land value uplift at a higher level than current systems like CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy).
• It will be charged based on the gross development value and is mandatory for all English charging authorities.
• Amendments 142, 143, 145, and 146 are rejected to maintain consistency and prevent complexities in the developer contributions regime.
• The new system is based on a single, fixed-rate levy mechanism for securing affordable housing and infrastructure.
• Local authorities will have greater certainty through borrowing power provided by the Bill.
• The amendment aims to give local authorities discretion in adopting the levy and its core elements.