ACE chief executive Hannah Vickers has called on Chancellor Philip Hammond to use his upcoming Budget next week to bring an end to CIL, arguing that it is failing in its original intention of “fairly raising money for supporting infrastructure”.
Figures compiled by the ACE through Freedom of Information requests found that despite the CIL raising more than £1.1bn for councils across England and Wales between 2014 and July 2018, £443m remains unspent and is currently sitting in council bank accounts.
It also found that only 43% of councils across England and Wales have chosen to implement the CIL.
“While councils are deciding not to implement the levy, or sitting on the funds raised, local infrastructure is bearing the brunt of increased strain whenever new homes or retail developments are green-lit,” said Vickers.
“The upcoming Budget is an opportunity for the government to address this imbalance and put in place a system which is simple and transparent. At the moment the system is failing old and new residents alike.”
UK govt urged to scrap CIL
The Association of Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has produced figures it claims shows that the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is not working.
