New developer levy to fund East Devon infrastructure

District chiefs are introducing a non-negotiable new levy on developers to pay for infrastructure such as school places, new roads, and sports pitches.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) partially replaces ‘section 106’ agreements, through which East Devon District Council (EDDC) currently gets money for infrastructure.

The authority says the CIL will give local communities more of a say about how money from developments is spent.

Councillor Andrew Moulding said: “It is great news that we are now able to introduce CIL as it is non-negotiable and therefore gives certainty to developers and communities alike over what contributions will be made towards providing infrastructure with fewer protracted negotiations and delays that were previously caused by Section 106 agreements.

“In the long term, local communities will also have a greater say over how money from development is spent in their area with a proportion of the funds being passed to town and parish councils to spend.”

EDDC says the charges - between £68 and £150 per square metre - are calculated based on what is viable for developers to pay and meeting the cost of delivering the required infrastructure. The charges will mainly apply to new dwellings and some retail units, although very large house extensions of more than 100 square metres will also have to pay the levy.

EDDC says a portion of the levy will be passed to town and parish councils to spend on local projects. However, developers are only required to pay when they start work and will often pay in instalments, so it may be some time before councils receive large sums of money.

Section 106 agreements will now be used primarily to secure infrastructure that the developer is providing themselves on the development and affordable housing, with the rest paid for by CIL funds administered by the council.