Chancellor Puts Planning Gain Supplement On Hold

The Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced that the government is ditching the planning gain supplement (PGS) in his Pre-Budget Report yesterday.

The government said that legislation implementing PGS would not be introduced in the next parliamentary session. Instead it would “legislate in the Planning Reform Bill to empower Local Planning Authorities in England to apply new planning charges to new development, alongside negotiated contributions for site-specific matters”.

The move comes after an alternative was presented by the British Property Federation, Home Builders Federation, Major Developers Association and London First.They have suggested a system of standard planning charges or tariffs set locally to reflect regional needs instead of the proposed PGS, which imposes a tax on the increase in land value following the granting of planning permission.