The institute this week warned that developers could find themselves not only paying tariffs but also having to negotiate to provide additional community benefits in order to secure planning permission.
The institute supported the proposed tariffs set out in the government's consultation document issued with last year's planning green paper. But it added that planning obligations should only be used to make a deficient proposal acceptable.
The planners' body also cautioned against the practice of negotiating alternative agreements between local planning authorities and developers.
"Clear published tariffs will remove one of the worst effects of the current system of negotiation – the public perception that some decisions are not reached on their merits, but are simply bought," institute president Mike Haslam said.
The tariff proposal brought dismay to the sector when it was revealed how a loophole could force a downturn in affordable housing provision.
"Some authorities may choose a package of proposals which discourage affordable housing," said planning consultant Richard Bate (Housing Today, 7 March).
The new system proposes scrapping the 25 per cent now negotiated for social housing in favour of a tariff paid to the council, which can choose how to spend it.
Fears were expressed across the sector in March when the House Builders Federation warned that strict national guidelines could render developments financially unviable, Haslam added: "Some local planning authorities have sought to use planning obligation negotiations to impose an unreasonable burden on developers, to the point that it deters the development."
Source
Housing Today
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