Tory MP calls for council tax charge on undeveloped land

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Development

A Conservative MP has recommended that developers should be penalised with council tax charges for failing to develop ground that has been granted planning permission.

In a report submitted to the Government, Jake Berry (pictured), MP for Rossendale & Darwen, calls attention to the 250,000 homes with planning permission that developers are currently land banking.

Mr Berry, who has been the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the former housing minister Grant Shapps since 2010, believes that developers could be incentivised to build if local authorities were to charge council tax on vacant plots.

Many developers are currently stalling on building work as they wait for values to rise, and simply renew permissions on vacant sites every five years.

Mr Berry points out that the last peak in permissions was 2007/08, when 50,488 were granted, and that the five year cycle for that spike's permission renewals is imminent.

Mr Berry said: "The vacant rates charges on commercial premises have been a good demonstration of the effect this sort of incentive can have. If councils began to charge council tax on these vacant plots, it would make it financially unviable for developers to continue to land bank them."