Policy paper

Development benefits pilots: invitation for expressions of interest

This document invites local planning authorities and neighbourhood planning forums to express an interest in becoming development benefits pilots.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Applies to England

Documents

Development benefits pilots: invitation for expressions of interest

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Details

Budget 2014 announced that the government will launch a government-funded staged pilot for passing a share of the benefits of development directly to individual households. This includes further research and evaluation of the approach.

HM Treasury have allocated a budget of £3.5 million to the Department for Communities and Local Government for the pilot. The aim of the pilot is to test:

  • the degree to which development benefits are likely to be both effective and efficient in reducing opposition to development and increasing active support for it
  • what approach to payments, including levels of payments and eligibility for payments is likely to be most effective
  • the extent to which a reduction in opposition to development by local residents can be expected to ease planning system constraints
  • the workability and costs of administering the development benefits model
  • whether there are any unintended consequences, either within this policy or for other government objectives
  • how the model would impact on the approach taken to new homes in neighbourhood plans

The document sets out further details on development benefits and how the pilots could operate. It also outlines the support that will be available and how interested parties can express an interest in participating pilots, to test how development benefits might be applied in practice.

Deadline for submitting expressions of interest was 24 October 2014.

Only 3 expressions of interest were submitted for this pilot. However, the initial attitudinal research to support the pilots has revealed some interesting insights into the opposition to development. We are looking into how opposition to development transmits into the planning system and the potential role of financial incentives in changing this.

We have decided not to proceed with pilots at this time.

Published 17 September 2014
Last updated 26 March 2015 + show all updates
  1. Information about why the pilots are not being carried forward

  2. First published.