MONMOUTHSHIRE councillors have agreed to look further into a levy that could be charged on new developments across the county.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was first introduced by the Westminster government in April 2010 and enables authorities to charge on developments in their area.

Further consultation will now be undertaken by the authority.

As part of the agreement, which was introduced in the Localism Act 2011, 15 per cent of all money generated by the CIL will be given to an area’s community council.

CIL charges will be paid per square metre on a development and charges will vary according areas and types of development.

Affordable housing, developments used for charitable purposes, self-build developments and extensions are exempt from CIL charges.

At a council meeting at County Hall in Usk on Thursday, Cllr Bob Hayward, who represents Dixton with Osbaston, said he had concerns.

He said a report revealed a “lack of clarity” in the plans and that since “very little gets changed” in consultation, the report had to undergo thorough scrutiny. He also said the way in which money would be allocated to community councils remained unclear.

Councillors had first agreed to preparatory work on the CIL in June 2013 as soon as the council’s local development plan was adopted. That was formally accepted last February.

But the council’s head of planning George Ashworth said the authority would be seeking to maximise the money on developments across Monmouthshire.

He said the council would still use Section 106 monies, another charge which can be taken from developers. But only one of Section 106 and CIL can be used as part of each development.

He added he hoped “the money will be spent responsibly” by community councils.

“It’s in nobody’s interests if a town or community council went off on unusual projects,” he said.

The council will be required to produce a charging schedule that sets out different rates across the county.

Once that has been completed, authorities will be able to charge different rates depending on the type, scale and location of a development.