The government has amended the Local Government Bill in a bid to enable regeneration areas to cash in on economic growth.
The law will now include provisions for a tax reinvestment scheme first highlighted by the Urban Taskforce in 1998.

Councils will be allowed to retain the revenue from increased economic growth and regeneration in the area.

The additional revenue would be generated from an increase in the tax base which would encourage businesses and local authorities to work in partnership because councils would be free to decide how to spend the extra money.

Chris Brown, chief executive of Igloo Regeneration, gave a cautious welcome to the news, saying: “It seems like a positive tool, but it doesn’t appear to include residential council tax. It should do, because the government is trying to encourage residential-led regeneration.”

The idea is similar to a pilot scheme presented to the ODPM involving Barking & Dagenham council and Igloo.

Source

Housing Today