A charge on developers to pay for new roads and schools is set to be slashed in an attempt to kick-start building in Norfolk.

Councils are hoping a new levy on development, due to be introduced next year, will go some way to paying for the �385m of infrastructure they say will be needed to cope with those new homes.

But developers had said the proposed charge per square metre of new housing was too high and council leaders look likely to agree to reduce it from the levy first proposed.

The new charge – known as the Community Infrastructure Levy – is a fixed amount which developers of all new housing schemes and some new business and leisure facilities will have to pay to fund infrastructure improvements.

While some of the money will need to be used to benefit the area where the homes are built, some will be used for schemes considered to be of wider importance, such as the Norwich Northern Distributor Road and the Long Stratton bypass.

The Greater Norwich Development Partnership has been consulting over the new fees – which were originally proposed at up to �160 per square metre for new homes near Norwich and �75 per square metre for housing schemes further away from the city.

And after developers raised concerns, a meeting of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) board, on December 15, is being asked to recommend the levy is set at �115 per square metre for properties close to the city while sticking with �75 per square metre in the rural areas.

The GNDP estimates the levy will generate about �220m over time.