Project
Jersey Infrastructure Levy
In July 2017, the Minister for the Environment for the Bailiwick of Jersey proposed the introduction of a development charge called the Jersey Infrastructure Levy (JIL), broadly modelled on the Community Infrastructure Levy that operates in England and Wales.
The Jersey Construction Council – an industry body representing the island’s developers – asked Lichfields to review the Feasibility study underpinning the Minister’s proposition and to prepare representations in response to the consultation.
We prepared a report that uncovered a number of methodological difficulties and gaps in the evidence in the work underpinning the proposed JIL, many relating to the unique property and land use characteristics of Jersey. It recommended that the existing Planning Obligations Agreement system (similar to s.106) was the most appropriate way of addressing the impacts of development.
Subsequent to the consultation – to which Lichfields’ work was the most substantive response – we attended a public debate on JIL with the Minister and others. The proposed levy was subsequently rejected in the States Assembly.
Lichfields provided a thorough and clearly articulated assessment of the Government’s levy proposition and underlying viability study, and highlighted key evidential failings in the advocated policy approach.
The Lichfields study and representations - which underpinned the industry’s response to the Government’s consultation - were impactful and showed a clear grasp of the commercial drivers of development. The work undoubtedly informed the political debate that led to the policy being rejected by the States Assembly.
Jersey Construction Council
Image credit: Amanda Slater