Memorandum by Graham Hughes, Director
of Sustainable Infrastructure, Cambridgeshire County Council (PGS
47)
Thank you for allowing the County Council the
opportunity to submit evidence to the Select Committee considering
the Government's proposals for a Planning Gain Supplement. The
comments below have been drafted by officers and reflect the Council's
formal view as provided in Cambridgeshire's response to the consultation
carried out earlier this year.
The Government's stated intention is to ensure
that increases in land value created by planning decisions are
released more effectively, to help finance the infrastructure
needed to stimulate service growth, as well as ensuring that local
communities share the benefits that growth brings.
It is very questionable whether growth areas
in particular will receive more funding from a Planning Gain Supplement
than they would using the existing Section 106 powers for transport,
education, libraries, leisure etc. The present proposals appear
to be directed at capturing a relatively small proportion of the
"gain" by sacrificing the existing arrangements for
funding the infrastructure needed to support the development.
The cost of this infrastructure will in many instances far exceed
the "planning gain supplement".
We also have concerns regarding the timing of
funding and whether it will be possible under the proposed arrangements
to ensure that payments will be received to enable provision of
infrastructure to be synchronised with new development. Under
current arrangements this can be built in to S106 Agreements.
To achieve what appear to be the Government's
objectives, by far the best way forward in our view would be for
local authorities to retain Section 106 powers for all items,
which have a valid land use planning purpose. Many of these facilities
will, of necessity, require provision off-site. Indeed, this in
itself is generally a way of ensuring that sites appropriate for
housing are fully used for that purpose. Therefore, the vast majority
of the items proposed for exclusion from planning obligations
in the consultation paper should continue to form part of planning
agreements, to ensure that the requisite services are properly
funded and provided, so long as they meet the tests set out in
Circular 05/2005.
There already seems to be very strong evidence
that the Sheffield University survey did not collect full information
on planning obligations already being secured across the country.
A very small proportion of authorities appear to have sent in
returns and many of these appear to be incomplete, for example
County Councils in some cases returned only minerals and waste
information. They have failed to include schools, roads etc. There
is no record, for example, within this authority of either receiving
a request for information or of any information being provided.
Across the country, there are authorities, which,
for various reasons, have not adopted robust Section 106 policies.
In some cases, a joined-up approach in the shire areas between
the counties and the districts still needs to be put in place.
Steps can be taken to remedy this situation. Influence should
be exerted via Government Regional Offices to ensure that the
new Local Development Frameworks have core policies which ensure
that development cannot proceed until appropriate arrangements
are in place to provide the necessary schools, transport and community
facilities, as well as affordable housing.
These matters are completely separate and distinct
from the matter of taxing "gains". The net "gain"
per hectare can be expected to vary significantly from site to
site. In areas where high levels of infrastructure are necessary
to open up land for development, the gain itself will be fairly
modest. High gains will occur in situations where little infrastructure
is needed and in areas which have an intrinsically high level
of land values.
An alternative to PGS might be to give consideration
to changing to the Capital Gains Tax Rules. The curtailment of
the roll-over relief in certain circumstances might be the best
way forward.
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