MP Calls for Council Tax Charge on Undeveloped Land

A Conservative MP has recommended that developers should be penalised with council tax charges for failing to develop ground that has been granted planning permission.  In a report submitted to the Government, Jake Berry, MP for Rossendale & Darwen, calls attention to the 250,000 homes with planning permission that developers are currently land banking.  Mr Berry, who has been the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the former housing minister Grant Shapps since 2010, believes that developers could be incentivised to build if local authorities were to charge council tax on vacant plots.  Many developers are currently stalling on building work as they wait for values to rise, and simply renew permissions on vacant sites every five years.  Read more on 24dash.