Radical plans welcomed

 

The property industry has welcomed ‘radical’ government plans to boost development that could see councils handed a greater share of national business rates.
 
The British Property Federation said proposals to localise business rates, published in the recent White Paper on local growth, would provide a key incentive for councils to encourage new development, create jobs and boost local economies.
 
The White Paper said this “more radical” option, which the BPF has lobbied on for several years, would “go further than the Business Increase Bonus scheme, with incentive effects likely to be stronger and more predictable, over longer time periods”.
 
Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “It’s extremely positive to see ministers giving thought to a more substantial relocalisation of business rates, something that would free councils from government grant and give them a real financial reward for approving development that generates economic activity and creates new jobs.”
 
The White Paper also provided welcome clarification on a number of government policies including the working of Local Enterprise Partnerships and the Coalition’s Regional Growth Fund, as well as detail on how planning will be used to drive growth, and on the introduction of tax increment financing.
 
www.bpf.org.uk