Cardiff Council leader Rodney Berman has welcomed the announcement that councils are being given the opportunity to fund major regeneration projects through tax increment financing (Tif).
Tif will enable local authorities to borrow against extra business rates to pay for additional new developments.
The news was announced yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Liberal Democrat party conference in Liverpool who said the initiative would allow councils to get in the “driving seat” and was “the first step to breathing life back into our greatest cities.”
The Treasury is now looking at legislation to introduce Tif and will be working closely with local authorities to design a framework of rules from within Tif would operate.
Funding raised through Tif could be used to pay for key infrastructure and other capital projects, which will support economic development.
Councillor Berman said: “We welcome the Government’s support for the opportunity to pay for major projects through business rates.
“This will give councils more flexibility in their approach to regeneration and is something which I not only support but have been pushing for.
“Councils in England will hugely benefit from Tif in terms of regeneration and I will be writing to the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) to urge them to ensure that this new legislation also applies to Wales. If so then this will be good news for Cardiff and the city’s long-term future.”
