£8,000 is the new levy facing homeowners who seek planning permission for basement extensions in Westminster.
The levy is the result of Westminster City Council’s recent adoption of new basement policy and new Code of Construction Practice, with the levy funding a ‘sub squad’, who will be deployed to police and monitor the construction of new basements.
The levy has been dubbed the new ‘basement tax’ on London’s wealthy and applies to schemes that have been granted planning permission from August 2016 onwards. The £8,000 levy will directly fund a team of ‘basement nuisance busters’ who are tasked with minimising the amenity impacts new basement construction works have on neighbouring properties.
The rationale behind this approach is to curb the negative impacts associated with the increasing popularity of basements in Westminster. Westminster City Council now receives approximately 150 basement applications each year.
Councillor Robert Davis, the Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council and Cabinet Member for the Built Environment said that this is the Council “sticking up for local residents, many of whom have found the explosion of basement development in recent years hellish”.
He also added that “it is right that those who want to build basements should contribute to this new service, which will work to help mitigate the negative impacts”.
The ‘sub squad’ will be formed from the Council’s Environmental Inspectorate team who undertake the following role under the new Code of Construction Practice:
- Advise applicants on the suitability of their construction management plan, including noise and dust mitigation measures
- Advise on site planning in relation to highways and traffic issues
- Review and agree the final construction management plan
- Act as a community liaison, following up nuisance complaints
They will also have an enforcement role, having the power to enforce against overly noisy works, enforce stricter working hours to avoid works at more sensitive times such as Saturday mornings and will monitor the cumulative impact of other development within the vicinity of the site, potentially by limiting the number of licenses on the street at one time.
The £8,000 charge is an estimate of what will be charged for the above services. Where minimal complaints are received, the final cost will be lower, and where substantial complaints are received, the final cost may be higher.
The Council estimates that most charges will range from £7,208 to £9,248, averaging out at £8,228. These charges are based on an hourly rate of £68, meaning that, on average, 121 man hours are needed to enforce this policy.
The imposition of the levy sits alongside recently adopted basement policy which, amongst other requirements, limits the depth of basement extensions to one storey and to only 50% of the rear garden area.
It not just homeowners who will be charged the levy. Major developments which involve basement excavations will also be liable to a £30,000 levy.
The imposition of this levy is the first of its kind in the UK.
Given that the popularity of basement extensions is not just confined to Westminster, there is a likelihood that other inner London boroughs such as the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Camden, could follow suit.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have recently adopted policy limited basement extensions to only 50% of the rear garden area. Camden are proposing a similar policy in their draft Local Plan due for adoption later this year.
With the levy still in its infancy, the effectiveness of Westminster’s ‘sub squads’ is set to be watched closely by homeowners, developers and local authorities in the coming months.