The Housing and Planning Bill 2015-2016 and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) will be the topics of discussion at tonight’s Bloomsbury Area Action Group.
Camden’s Bloomsbury ward councillors — Sabrina Francis, Adam Harrison and Rishi Madlani — have invited Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia residents to the public meeting.
Camden council officer Finneguela O’Brien will outline the proposed changes to housing in the Housing and Planning Bill 2015-2016, currently going through parliament, and how it is likely to have a big impact on the type and availability of housing in Bloomsbury and in the borough of Camden more widely.
These include changes such as the obligatory sale of council-owned homes, the introduction of a ‘Pay to Stay’ rules, and provisions which will appear set to reduce the amount of affordable housing that can be secured for the community when new developments are built, says the council.
Camden council officer Rob Willis will explain how the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) will work. The CIL is a new tax collected by local authorities and paid by developers once their planning permissions are implemented. The funds raised can be spent on infrastructure projects such as roads and other transport, schools, community buildings and green spaces (though not housing). Most of the CIL will be spent on borough wide projects, but 25 percent is available for local projects.
The local councillors want to hear what residents’ priorities for CIL spending in Bloomsbury ward are.
Bloomsbury Area Action Group, Wednesday 6 January 2016, 6.30pm to 8.30pm, Committee room 1, Camden town hall, Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE.
Documents: Agenda Bloomsbury AAG 6 January 2016; Community Infrastructure Levy.