A COUNCIL has been accused of missing out of millions of pounds of cash from housebuilders.

Blackburn with Darwen Conservatives have said the borough's Labour administration should have imposed a flat rate levy on new homes in 2012.

As a result they claim the authority has lost out on millions of pounds in cash payments from housebuilder that could have been raised by the government's Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which would have imposed a higher rate on estates built on green spaces as opposed to on previously developed 'brownfield' land.

The shift to the CIL from using Section 106 agreements over cash payments from developers was recommended to the council in a 2012 report.

The issue was raised at Blackburn with Darwen Council's planning committee on Thursday night by Tory regeneration spokesman Cllr Paul Marrow.

Councillors were discussing a report which revealed that in 2020/21 the council received £1.664million from Section 106 payments,

Cllr Marrow accused the council of 'allowing developers to build houses on the cheap' by not making the change.

Cllr Phil Riley, Labour's regeneration boss, hit back: "The CIL did not allow enough flexibility and imposing it would have deterred developers from building homes in the borough.

"I may point out to Cllr Marrow that the Conservatives have opposed virtually every major housing development in the borough and so if they had had their way there would have been no new homes and no money to discuss."

After the meeting Livesey with Pleasington ward Conservative Cllr Mark Russell, who has researched the issue, said: "CIL does not replace Section 106 - it is additional to it. It is applied even where no S106 obligation is required, and it can be spent on any infrastructure the council likes.

"Labour's failure to introduce CIL in Blackburn with Darwen - contrary to its own report's recommendations - has cost the council millions."

Cllr Riley said: "The decision in 2012 was made by the planning committee on the advice of officers and a cross party working group.

"This was before the council's successful growth programme when we were regularly criticised for missing our housing targets."

The council's planning department is currently reviewing the possible use of the levy in the light of the government's new 'Planning for the Future' White Paper.

Cllr Russell added: "The council could have built on far less greenfield land and still have far more money than it gets from Section 106 contributions. Labour's failure hasn't just cost the borough millions, it has done untold damage to the borough's environment."