Planning - an overview of Community Infrastructure Levy

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was introduced by the Planning Act 2008 in support of the government's aim to make the planning system fairer, more transparent and speedier.

The concept has received a somewhat rough ride from the profession, but has now been crystallised in the consultation and draft regulations published in July 2009. The consultation closed on 23 October and it is anticipated that the regulations will come into force on 6 April 2010.

The basic premise is that "charging authorities" (broadly, current planning authorities) will be empowered to levy a charge on most types of new development. This is to be calculated under a charging schedule which will form part of the Local Development Framework. The schedule will reduce development to charging units to which the levy will be applied.

The charging authorities must identify the infrastructure (both local and sub-regional) to which the income from the levy is to be applied in the development plan. Therefore, most authorities will need to bring forward up-to-date development plans before the CIL may be operated.

The CIL will be registered as a local land charge and the regulations provide for enforcement action against developers who fail to make the payments required.

The ability to enter into planning obligations will continue. For example, the provision of affordable housing does not immediately lend itself to a financial payment, although the consultation paper does ask for comments on improvements to the planning obligations regime.

The consultation paper indicates that CIL "will demand new skills in local authorities and that government will work with other organisations to ensure that staff have the necessary skills in good time to allow a smooth implementation." It remains to be seen how many authorities are willing and/or able to divert staff from existing workloads to prepare for the CIL.

Finally, it also remains to be seen whether the CIL will achieve the government's aims. It will provide clarity and certainty for developers, but in the present climate that may mean that the proposed development is certainly not economically viable.

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