Community Infrastructure Levy Process

STEP 1 Applicants for a development that will be, or may be, liable for CIL must submit a CIL Additional Questions Form prior to a planning application being validated. In most cases the CIL Questions Form will contain sufficient information for the Council to calculate the CIL liability. However, further information may be required in some cases, such as, large or complex applications.

If you know who is going to be liable for paying CIL it would assist if the Assumption of Liability Form is also submitted with the planning application.

The Council will not validate planning applications until it has received a CIL Additional Questions Form.

STEP 2 When the Council grants a planning consent, it will issue a CIL Liability Notice along with the Decision Notice. In situations where consent is granted on appeal, the CIL Liability Notice will be issued as soon as possible after the appeal decision is issued.

The CIL Liability Notice sets out the total amount of CIL due for the development. If applicants consider that the amount has been incorrectly calculated, they can request that the Council recalculates it. If, on recalculation, applicants still consider the amount is incorrect, they can appeal the decision. Further information relating to CIL appeals can be found at Guidance Note 8: Appeals Procedure.

STEP 3 Prior to commencing development, two forms must be forwarded to the Council. These are as follows:

CIL Form – Assumption of Liability CIL Form – Assumption of Liability(This is the form that lets the Council know who will be liable for paying the CIL relating to the development) and if not already submitted will need to be submitted prior to any development commencing.

CIL Form – Commencement Notice (This is the form that lets the Council know when development is going to commence, and will form the basis of the dates that CIL payments become due)

If these forms are not submitted to the Council prior to commencement of development, penalty surcharges apply, and the person liable to pay the CIL relating to the development loses the right to pay by instalments. The Assumption of Liability form may be submitted along with the planning application, (or at any time between submission of the application and commencement of the development) once it is known who will be assuming liability to pay CIL.

STEP 4 Where developments are eligible for affordable housing, self-build or charitable relief, the developer must forward CIL Form – Claiming Exemption or Relief, to the Council. This relief can only be claimed after the Assumption of Liability form has been forwarded to the Council, and only by the person who has assumed liability for paying the CIL.

Claims for Self-Build Exemptions

Claims for a self build exemption (relating to a whole house) should be submitted on form  SB1-1 Self Build Exemption Claim Form Part 1  and followed by further supporting information, when the development is finished, on form SB1- 2: Self Build Exemption Claim Form: Part 2

Claims for a self build exemption relating to a residential annex or extension should be submitted on form SB2 Self Build Annex or Extension Claim Form

Please refer to Guidance Note 5 Exemptions for Self Build Properties, Extensions and Annexes,  for more information on self-build developments.

If the development commences before the Council has determined the amount of relief and issued a revised CIL Liability Notice, the claim for relief will lapse, and relief will not be given. Further information about claiming relief can be found at Guidance Notes 3 Charitable Development Relief,4 Social Housing Relief   (Please also refer to the Council’sDiscretionary Social Housing Relief Policy ) and 5 Exemptions for Self-Build Properties Extensions and Annexes and in the Government’s Community Infrastructure Levy Guidance published in June 2014.

STEP 5 Once the Council has received CIL Form – Commencement Notice it will issue a CIL Demand Notice to the person(s) that have assumed liability to pay the CIL. This notice sets out the date that the CIL must be paid by. The notice also sets out the amount due in each instalment and the date it must be paid by.

The CIL Instalment Policy sets out the Council’s payment by instalments. If payment is not made by the due date, penalty surcharges apply. The Council does not have the flexibility to defer CIL in the same way that it can in respect of planning obligations, and payment of CIL is enforceable through both the courts and the planning process. Guidance Note 7 Possible consequences of non-payment of CIL   provide more information about when surcharges apply and the level at which they are set.  If an instalment is missed, the instalments policy ceases to apply and the total CIL liability is due for payment forthwith.

STEP 6 Once the Council has received the CIL payment it will acknowledge receipt of the payment. Upon receipt of the final payment due in respect of a development, the CIL Charge will be removed from the Land Charges Register.

This process will apply in the vast majority of cases. However there are a few situations where the process may be different.  For example:

• Where CIL is payable on permitted development, or development granted under a general consent such as a Local Development Order or a Prior Notification Consent.
• Where someone withdraws or transfers their liability to pay CIL.