The funding of infrastructure from value capture mechanisms : the institutionalisation of an economic growth discourse in English spatial planning

Abstract

The capture of value from property development processes is a challenge for many planning systems. In the UK there is a long history of using value capture mechanisms; most recently in the name of ‘supporting growth’ and to secure funding for infrastructure. This research examines the latest English policy on value capture, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a type of “impact fee”, to study policy-making in this area. The planning system, and the CIL policy, are conceptualised here as a series of arenas where different knowledges engage with each other. Three main arenas are identified: assessments of the value generated by the development process; the distribution of the value between the actors involved in the development process, including the capture of a share by the state to fund infrastructure provision; and, the decision on how funding is spent. Using an interpretive policy analysis approach influenced greatly by Hajer across two case studies, the research reveals that the underpinning economic viability assessment process is problematic, with specialist knowledge claims having a distinctive performative impact on the outcome of the policy making process. The viability assessment then provides a frame within which other policy debates are enacted and this influences planning practice in new and particular ways. This analysis demonstrates the extent of the institutionalisation of an economic growth discourse within the English planning system. This finding contrasts with previous periods in which value capture had underpinning social rationales. Finally, the implications of this Institutionalisation are that the transparency of the decision making process is obscured by the use of technical and specialist knowledge by key actors, especially in relation to the viability assessment. This governance effect of the viability assessment frames the policy priorities and the tactical activities of local authorities in policy making in this area.