The Community
Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge, envisaged as a means through which
local authorities in England and Wales could help deliver infrastructure to
support the development of their area.
Introduced by the Planning
Act 2008, the CIL came into force on 6 April 2010 through the Community
Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, however, it has not been as well received
as initially hoped, having been amended in six of the eight years of its
subsequent existence.
Similarly, take-up has not
been as widespread or as rapid as the Government had projected; As of 2018 only
138 local authorities in England and Wales have adopted CIL schedules, while
nearly 230 have published draft charging schedules for consultation, leaving
around one third of authorities without any published plans for CIL. As a result,
considerably less revenue than expected has been generated.
An independent review into
CIL commissioned by the Government in 2015 concluded that the current system of
developer contributions was not sufficiently fast, simple, certain or
transparent, and that development was being delayed by negotiations for section
106 planning obligations, which were often required alongside CIL contributions.
In response, the Government announced at the Autumn Budget 2017 that it would
be consulting on reforms to the system, to reduce complexity and increase
certainty.
In March 2018, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCLG) published consultation proposals to reform the
current system of developer contributions, focusing on CIL and section 106
planning obligations. The consultation on developer contributions ended in May
2018.
During this session
lecturer Richard Quenby will discuss the background to the CIL and will examine
the general and specific proposals contained within the MHCLG’s consultation, what
the response to the consultation is likely to be and what this may mean in
practice.