How does the Community Infrastructure Levy affect me?

Planning obligations (funding agreements between the local planning authority and the developer) will continue to play an important role in helping to make individual developments acceptable. However, reforms have been introduced to restrict the use of planning obligations.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is intended to provide infrastructure to support the development of an area rather than to make individual planning applications acceptable in planning terms. As a result, there may still be some site specific impact mitigation requirements without which a development should not be granted planning permission (such as: affordable housing, local highway and junction improvements, primary schools, health and landscaping). Therefore, there is still a legitimate and necessary role for development planning obligations to enable a local planning authority to be confident that the specific consequences of development can be mitigated. However items that are identified as being funded by CIL (those items detailed on the Reg. 123 list) cannot then also be required as part of a section 106 agreement.

Development will be liable for Community Infrastructure Levy if it:

• involves new build of at least 100m² gross internal area (GIA) floor-space
• involves the creation of one or more dwellings

This includes development permitted by a general consent (including permitted development).

Development will not be liable for Community Infrastructure Levy if it:

• involves only change of use, conversion or subdivision of, or creation of mezzanine floors within a building which has been in lawful use for at least six months in the 3 years prior to the development being permitted and does not create any new build floor-space
• is for a building into which people do not normally go, or go only intermittently for the purpose of inspecting or maintaining fixed plant or machinery
• is for a structure which is not a building, such as pylons or wind turbines
• is permitted by a ‘general consent’ (including permitted development) commenced before 6 April 2013
• is for a use which benefits from a zero or nil charge (£0/m²) as set out in a CIL Charging Schedule

The responsibility to pay the levy rests with the ownership of land on which the liable development will be situated. Although liability rests with the landowner, the regulations recognise that others involved in a development may wish to pay. To allow this, anyone can come forward and assume liability for the development.

The charge is levied in pounds per square meter (£ / m²) on the net additional increase in floor-space measured as Gross Internal Area (GIA). It will normally be collected as a monetary payment, although there is also provision for it to be paid by transfer of land to the local authority if certain criteria are met. Please see our guidance note regarding payment in kind.

The charge levied in pounds per square meter (£ / m²) on the net additional increase in floor-space measure as Gross Internal Area for the Community Infrastructure Levy is exempt from VAT.   

In calculating individual charges for the levy, charging authorities will be required to apply an annually updated index of inflation using BICS All Tender Index, using the rate applicable on 1 November (Quarter 4) of the preceding year, this ensure the levy is responsive to market conditions.

The levy’s charges become due from the date of commencement of a chargeable development. When planning permission is granted, we will issue a liability notice setting out the amount of the levy and the payment procedure.

Unlike contributions collected through section 106 agreements the triggers for payment are not negotiated and there is no time constraint for the spending of monies collected through Community Infrastructure Levy.

Yes, please view the payment by instalment policy document.

The levy’s charges are intended to be easily understood and easy to comply with. Most of those liable to pay the levy are expected to pay their liabilities without problem or delay. However, where there are problems in collecting the levy charging authorities will have the means to penalise late payment, through surcharges.

In cases of persistent noncompliance the regulations also enable collecting authorities to consider more direct action such as the issuing of a Community Infrastructure Levy Stop Notice or applying to the courts for seizure of assets to pay the outstanding monies or for custodial sentences.  

In accordance with the Regulations the following development may receive relief from CIL:

• charitable development
• social housing development
• self-build development
• self-build residential annex or extension

Guidance notes will be available on the website to explain the process for claiming relief.

Outline planning permissions granted after the date the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedule comes into effect, will be liable to pay CIL when the development is built, but as the liability is calculated at Reserved Matters stage there is no need to submit any CIL forms with the outline application. If an outline application includes phasing of development, each phase is treated as a separate development for the purpose of paying CIL. As above, the CIL liability for each phase is calculated at reserved matters stage for that phase.

Outline planning permissions granted on or after 22 January 2018 will be liable to pay Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) prior to commence of development. However, as the liability is calculated at Reserved Matters stage there is no need to submit any CIL forms with the outline application.

Potentially.

If a building has not been in lawful use for a period of at least 6 months in the 3 years running up to the day planning permission is granted for conversion of the building into residential use (or holiday let), the development will be liable for Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). A proposal for the conversions of an unused, redundant barn to a dwelling could therefore be liable for CIL. A change of use from a building not in lawful use to a supermarket or a retail warehouse could also be liable for CIL, but only if there is additional new build of over 100m².

Yes, providing they are permanent buildings.

Second homes are still dwellings that come under use class C3 and their use is not normally restricted through planning conditions. Therefore, the development of second homes will pay the relevant residential rate.   

No.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) can only be charged on buildings. Planning law dictates that mobile homes are not normally buildings therefore no CIL will be charged on them.

No, the regulations make clear that the subdivision of a single dwelling into two or more separate dwellings is not liable for Community Infrastructure Levy.

You would have to pay Community Infrastructure Levy on the whole 110m². The 100m² exemption does not work as a discount. Therefore, as soon as the threshold is breached the whole extension becomes chargeable.

Yes.

If the formal grant of permission was made after the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedule comes into effect, it would be liable to pay CIL.

This is because any resolution to grant planning permission by the Committee does not formally grant planning permission as a decision notice cannot be issued until, for example, a section 106 agreement has been signed, where required. In the situation where the Committee has made a resolution to grant planning permission subject to a section 106 that provided infrastructure, it is likely the application will have to go back to Committee as the section 106 may no longer be justified following the introduction of CIL.

Yes.

If full planning permission is granted before publication of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedule, but an approval of a Section 73 application to vary or remove conditions is made after publication of the CIL Charging Schedule, the approval does trigger a liability to pay CIL because it results in a new planning permission.

However, although a new CIL liability is triggered, the new additional chargeable amount is equal only to the net increase in the chargeable amount arising from the original planning permission, so as to avoid double counting of liability. In effect, if the application to vary a condition does not result in an increase in floor-space then there will be no charge.   

No.

Provided the extension of time application meets the requirements of Article 18 of the Development Management Procedure Order (for example the original permission to be extended was originally granted prior to October 2010). An application to extend a permission that dates after October 2010 would essentially be a new permission and therefore liable for Community Infrastructure Levy.

Yes.

Social housing is residential development so it is liable to pay Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). However, it is eligible for 100% relief from CIL, providing the social housing remains as social housing for a period of seven years from commencement. As such there is potential a CIL charge may be required if the social housing ceases to be social housing within seven years.

Therefore, the whole CIL collection procedure will need to be followed. As no charge will be liable in the first instance, no demand notice will be sent out by us. If the development becomes liable within the 7 years a revised liability notice and demand notice will then be sent.

No.

Only planning applications granted permission on or after the implementation of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on 22 January 2018 will be liable to pay CIL. A reserved matter application relating to an outline planning permission that was granted prior to the CIL Charging Schedule coming into effect will also not be liable.

Under the requirements of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended) 15% of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) collected as a result of development in a given parish area will be passed to the relevant town or parish council. Payments will be capped to £100 per council tax dwelling per year, for example a town or parish with 50 dwellings cannot receive more than £5,000 in CIL receipts per year. In areas with no parish council, West Lindsey District Council, as the local charging authority, will determine how to distribute the funding but must use the 15% to support the development of the relevant area.

Areas with an adopted neighbourhood plan will receive 25% of the CIL receipts, with no cap on the amount of monies they may receive each year. The monies may be used to support the development of the local area by funding: provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure or anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.

The district council is required to make payments to town or parish councils twice a year. Therefore it is anticipated that payments in respect of CIL received between 1 April to 30 September will be paid to the specific parish council by the end of October of that financial year and pay CIL monies received from 1 October to 31 March by the end of April.