Developers’ tax ‘needed to support blue light services’

ELECTED police chiefs are demanding property developers pay a tax on new houses to help to meet the increased demand on emergency services.

Current planning regulations require builders to pay a one-off cost on new developments known as the “infrastructure levy”, which helps finance vital local amenities such as new schools, play areas and transport needs.

Despite the extra strain expanding communities places on local police, fire and ambulance services, they do not receive a portion of the tariff.

Now police and crime commissioners are calling on the Government to ensure changes to planning regulations allow support for blue light services.

The money would not be used to pay for extra officers but would provide funding for infrastructure such as custody suites, vehicles and new stations.

Almost a quarter of a million new homes were built in 2019-20, the highest number since the late 1980s. A shake-up of planning regulations is intended to make house building even easier by getting rid of red tape, but opposition in Tory heartlands is already threatening to scupper the plans.

When developments are built homeowners contribute to the provision of services through council tax payments. They also help fund policing and emergency services through income tax.

But infrastructure costs are not necessarily seen as a priority and are hard to meet out of existing budgets. Commissioners believe the proposed changes to the planning system is a good opportunity to address this.

Roger Hirst, police and crime commissioner for Essex, said: “The system does not account for additional pressure on local services that comes from significant new developments. It has always just been assumed that policing, fire and ambulance services will automatically be provided to the appropriate standard without any support from developer contributions. As communities grow, the result is that the emergency services’ capacity over the area is diluted. This is unsustainable.”

The emergency services also ask that the levy covers not only buildings such as police stations, but also technology that is crucial in the fight against crime.

Mr Hirst added: “It is vital the Government’s response to the White Paper acknowledges the requests for reforms the emergency services have made.”