BCP Council (Poole):  Darryl Howells, a director of Pure Town Planning has secured planning permission for a block of 10 flats in the town centre.  The scheme designed by Simon Morgan of Morgan Design Studio is a modification of a previously approved scheme also secured by Darryl, but submitted to benefit the client in terms of lesser financial contributions.

The previous scheme for 10 flats generated a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) of £118,000 however, recently the Local Planning Authority have amended their CIL rates for this part of the borough.  The recent decision issued several days ago, generates a CIL amount of £52,000, a massive saving of £66,000 from the cost of the development.

Whilst this report is not news of a new scheme, it highlights the importance of being aware of CIL rate changes and how a scheme might benefit financially from that change.  The planning application fee was only £462 so overall, applying for a slight modification was without doubt worth it, and of course gives the client another 3 years to implement the consent, thereby providing more options.

If you have an approved scheme but the viability of it is questionable, then please contact one of our consultants, whom might be able to suggest improvements to make it more viable, or changes in policy, to reduce the contributions that the Council originally sought.