A ‘development tax’ could generate £37m for Kirklees Council as housing firms take up land offered in the Local Plan.

The so-called Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) will force developers to hand over cash for schools, roads and parks.

The charges will be based on the location of the development and the size.

Kirklees Council’s cabinet has agreed to consult the proposal alongside the controversial 15 year Local Plan.

Councillors are considering adopting a CIL after changes to planning regulations last May limited the number of demands that officials can make in so-called Section 106 agreements.

Some of the land made available for house building in Kirklees Council's new Local Plan

The agreements legally require developers to cough up money for infrastructure projects.

The council’s recent S106 agreement with David Wilson Homes for 85 houses in Skelmanthorpe was, for instance, worth about £345,000.

But it has been reported that more than £1.4m of the £10m in S106 monies agreed between 2003 and 2013 has not been paid.

The CIL would charge between £5 per square metre to £100 per square metre for the most valuable land.

A map published by the council shows the highest banded land is mostly in the rural areas of south Kirklees, the Holme Valley and the far end of the Colne Valley.

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The cheapest zones are around Huddersfield and Dewsbury.

Council officials have estimated the levy would bring in £37m by 2031 – the lifespan of the Local Plan.

The CIL regulations also allow the council to accept payments in kind where appropriate in the form of land or infrastructure to offset the charge required by the CIL.

Bradley Park Golf Course could be developed under the new Kirklees Council Local Plan

Certain developments would be exempt from CIL, including wind turbines, social housing, a vacant houses brought back to use.

Consultation will run alongside the one for the Local Plan from November 9 to December 18.

As reported, the Local Plan is the council’s blueprint for development until 2031. About 200 sites have been identified across the borough, including Bradley Park Golf Course and large swathes of land in Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury.

Information about it will be published in a 12 page document available from libraries and town halls or online at www.kirkleestogether.co.uk