London Councils response to CLG proposals for the Community Infrastructure Levy

London Councils has submitted a response to the CLG consultation detailing proposals for the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). CIL will be a new charge which local authorities in England and Wales will be empowered, but not required, to levy on most types of development in their areas. In London, both the Mayor and the boroughs will be able to charge CIL.

The main points in our response are as follows:

• London Councils is a keen supporter of Crossrail and wishes to see it fully funded
• We welcome the Government's wide definition of infrastructure but would like the regulations to specify that the only infrastructure project to which the Mayor can apply CIL would be Crossrail (at least initially)
• We want the regulations to be amended to require the Mayor to take account of the borough CIL or S106 arrangements when setting a Mayoral CIL
• We support the principle of the Mayor and boroughs being able to charge differential rates of CIL for different geographical zones or sub-zones and for different types of development
• We do not agree with the provision for any person who makes a representation to be heard in person at the examination as this could result in lengthy (and expensive) examinations for charging authorities