Crossrail funding contributions from developers forecast to hit £600m target for a year ahead of schedule
The funding target for contributions from developers for the £14.8bn Crossrail project will be reached a year ahead of schedule, according to the latest forecast from Transport for London (TfL).
As part of the funding arrangement with government, TfL is to raise £600m towards Crossrail through a combination of the mayoral community infrastructure levy (MCIL) and Section 106 contributions.
The MCIL charges developers for additional floorspace they create across the capital, with the size of the contribution determined by the location, the amount of floorspace, and how the development will be used. The current rate in zone one is £50 per square metre, £35 in zone two and £20 in zone 3.
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And in the July update from TfL’s finance committee, the target £600m developer contribution is on track to be secured a year ahead of schedule. TfL judged that off the back of the current crop of receipts to the end of 2016/17, along with forecasts for the next two years until March 2019.
The levy brought in £137m last year, bringing the total after four years to £382m on a cash basis. A record quarterly income of £39.7m was brought in for the fourth quarter of 2016/17, but TfL said “it is not anticipated that this figure is likely to be replicated in the coming quarters”.
The London transport body also cautions that future contributions will be dependent on “a stable property market related to economic activity”.
The boroughs generating particularly high contributions so far are concentrated in central London, with Tower Hamlets and Westminster leading the way. They have chipped in £40m and £34m respectively to date.
Crossrail will link a raft of stations in London and the South East when it becomes fully open in 2019. The first Elizabeth Line train entered passenger service between Liverpool Street Main Line and Shenfield in June.
There are also plans for the £31bn Crossrail 2 project lined up, which would be a rail route linking south west and north east London, as well as spots across Surrey and Hertfordshire. However, funding has proved an obstacle so far.
While the Crossrail 2 team has said London can foot half the bill, with measures including an extension of the MCIL, the government has set the conditions that half the cost must be met during construction.
The mayor said he is working with transport secretary Chris Grayling “to make the scheme more affordable”, and is confident that the team can arrive at a funding package “that meets the Department for Transport’s requirements”.
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