A Guide CIL | Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

Background and Statutory Requirements

The Council’s Draft Charging Schedule and Statement of Modifications was the subject of Public Examination on 27^thFebruary 2014, and the Examiner’s Report was received on 4^thJune 2014 (please refer to Examination page for more information).

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council has followed the procedures and requirements set out in the Planning Act 2008 and Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010 (as amended) to produce and introduce its CIL Charging Schedule.

As required by Section 213 of Planning Act 2008 the Council’s Charging Schedule was approved (by a majority vote) at a meeting of Council on 10^th December 2014. View the Community Infrastructure Levy Report.

The Council’s CIL rates have been set by striking a balance between how much CIL can be raised to deliver infrastructure projects and the impact of CIL on the viability of new development schemes.

CIL Liable Development

CIL is charged on gross internal floor area space (GIA) per square metre (sq m) of any new building (which includes the conversion of buildings that are not ‘in-use’) or an extension to an existing building in the Rhondda Cynon Taf administrative area if it has at least 100m² of gross internal floor space or involves the creation of a dwelling even when that is below 100 m² (including changes of use) in accordance with the Council’s Charging Schedule.

(Please refer to Guidance Note 1 for more information on the types of development that are CIL liable and for the kinds of development that do not pay the levy).

CIL Charging Schedule

The Council’s Charging Schedule identifies which types of development are liable to pay CIL. The Charging Schedule includes a map to show different residential zones and specifies the wards within each zone

The CIL charge to be paid by a development will be calculated in accordance with Regulation 40 of the CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended). As set out in these regulations, CIL charges will be index linked to the Building Cost Information Services (BCIS) All-in Tender Price Index.

The Indexation uplift for 2024 in Rhondda Cynon Taf is:

Residential Zone 2 £40 per sqm – indexation is £24.93 –total payable per sqm £64.93
Residential Zone 3 £85 per sqm – indexation is £52.99 – total payable per sqm £137.99
Retail £100 per sqm – indexation is £62.34 – total payable per sqm £162.34

Please note the above is to enable a rough calculation only and has been rounded to two decimal places however the true calculation is based on eight decimal places and therefore the net total will be slightly higher than using the above figures

Is your development a self-build development and located in zone 2 or 3 of the CIL Charging area? If so you may be able to claim self-build exemption from paying CIL. Please refer to CIL Guidance Note 5 and/or contact the Council by emailing planningservices@rctcbc.gov.uk or telephone 01443 281128

How is development size calculated?

The size of development is calculated on the basis of its Gross Internal Area (GIA). The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has produced guidance on how to calculate GIA and this is contained in a document called Code of Measuring Practice (chargeable).

GIA includes all new build floor space within the external walls of a building, including circulation and service space such as corridors, storage, toilets, lifts etc. It includes attic rooms that are useable as rooms, but excludes loft space accessed by a pull-down loft ladder. It also includes garages, conservatories, sheds and any other ancillary residential buildings contained within a Planning Application. Generally, any structure with three or more walls and a roof is considered to create ‘internal’ floor space and is therefore chargeable

Instalments Policy

The Council’s Instalments Policy provides for CIL payments to be spread between 6 months and 4 years, depending on the scale of the CIL liability. The Instalments policy only applies in cases where the person(s) liable for paying CIL have complied with all the relevant regulations and requirements.

What happens with current planning applications on the day CIL takes effect?

On the date CIL takes effect (31^stDecember 2014) any undetermined planning applications will need to become CIL compliant, which will mean that any draft S106 agreement, planning appeal or viability appraisal will need to be revised in line with the approved CIL regime.

CIL and S106 Obligations (Agreements)

CIL is not intended to replace S106 obligations. It will subsume a lot of the matters and issues that are currently addressed through the mechanism. S106 obligations, however, will remain in force and will deliver site specific mitigation of the direct effect of development and will continue to be used to deliver affordable housing (which is expressly omitted from CIL).

CIL Administration and Collection

The Planning Portal have created a CIL web page that includes an in depth explanation of CIL together with the relevant CIL administration forms and guidance notes and it is recommended that applicants refer to this page prior to making a planning application for development. The Planning Portal forms required to administer CIL can be accessed below:

Please see council’s Process page for the processes involved in respect of the charging and collection of CIL

Planning application validation requirement - CIL additional questions form

To calculate the CIL liability all new planning applications (with the exception of outline applications) will be required to provide floor space information as part of their application submission. The information will need to include

the CIL Additional Questions document, (which on Council approval of the Charging Schedule will become a validation requirement)
where applicable, existing floor plans (even if demolition is proposed).

How CIL funds will be spent

Taking account of the Infrastructure Delivery Plan the Council has published a list under Regulation 123 of the CIL Regulations the purpose of which is to set out what types of infrastructure, and some specific projects, may be funded by CIL. As a result of producing this list, S106 contributions cannot be sought for those items. As a result of the decision of Cabinet on 17th October 2019 and following consultation the Council has adopted an updated Regulation 123 List. The Regulation 123 list may be further updated following Cabinet approval and consultation to take changing priorities into account.

In addition, the Regulations require 15% of CIL revenue per annum, raised in a community or town council area is passed to that organisation to be spent on community infrastructure projects. In those parts of the County Borough where there are no community or town council the Council will retain the CIL receipts and have the same spending powers as community/town councils in relation to the 15% of CIL receipts for that area.

The Council has prepared some Guidance Notes and FAQ’s to assist developers in respect of calculating and applying CIL.

Downloads and Links

In addition to the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council documentation which is accessible via the web links in this document, official guidance and advice is available in other locations, some of which are as follows: