Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) guidance

We adopted our Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedule on 29 April 2014. This means that a flat fee can be charged for each square metre of floor area in new developments of eligible residential, convenience retail, student accommodation and care homes that are granted planning permission from 1 July 2014 onwards

On this page you can find:

Inline with Government Regulations, the Council also produces annual reports on CIL amounts collected and spent, which includes the Infrastructure Funding Statement.

What is the Community Infrastructure Levy?

The purpose of the community infrastructure levy is to raise funds from developers who are undertaking new building projects, to help pay for infrastructure that is needed to support new development. It can be used to fund a wide range of infrastructure including:

  • school, hospitals and other health and social care facilities
  • transport schemes
  • park, green spaces and leisure facilities

Our Infrastructure Funding Statement contains an ‘infrastructure list’, which identifies the types of infrastructure that we will spend CIL on in our Borough.

CIL replaces section 106 planning agreements for many forms of infrastructure, although section 106 agreements can still be used for site specific mitigation and to provide affordable homes.

How much will I have to pay?

Our charging schedule  sets out the rates at which different types of development will be charged on a pounds per square metre (£/sq m) basis. 

How is CIL calculated?

CIL is calculated according to the following formula as set out in the Regulations:

CIL formula

 

R = Rate. The rate as set out in the Council's Charging Schedule above.
A = Area. The Gross Internal Area (GIA) of the development that is liable to pay the Levy.
Ip = Index figure for the year in which planning permission was granted
Ic = Index figure for the year in which the Charging Schedule was adopted

The Index is the All-In Tender Price Index, published by the Building Costs Information Service (BCIS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Liability to pay CIL is triggered on developments that include any new build - that is a new building or an extension - of 100 square metres, or more, of gross internal area (GIA), or any development that involves the creation of an additional dwelling, even when that is below 100 square metres of GIA.

Charges on floorspace contained in existing and/or demolished buildings will usually be deducted from the total CIL liability of a development. This is to ensure that charging CIL does not discourage the redevelopment of sites. However, to qualify for this discount the legislation requires the existing and/or demolished floorspace to have been in continuous lawful use for at least six months during the three years preceding the day on which planning permission first permits the chargeable development. The onus will be on the applicant to demonstrate that this criteria has been met before qualifying for a CIL discount.

CIL charges (current)

In accordance with Regulation 121C of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended), EEBC is issuing this Annual CIL Rate Summary effective from 1 January 2024 until 31 December 2024.  This Annual CIL Rate Summary, published in November 2023, contains the rates for CIL liable development across the Borough for the calendar year 2024.  The Index is based on the BCIS All-in Tender Price Index (BCIS TPI)

The index figure for 2024 (1 January to 31 December inclusive) is 381. Therefore, any CIL liable planning applications approved between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2024 will have the indexation rate applied in accordance with the below.

Development Type

Charging schedule levy

Indexed 2024 CIL rate

Residential dwellings (C3)

£125

£199.27

Convenience retail (A1)

£150

£239.12

Student accommodation (C2)

£30

£47.82

Care home (C2)

£20

£31.88

All other uses

£0

£0

 

CIL Charges (from 1 January 2025)

In accordance with Regulation 121C of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended), EEBC is issuing this Annual CIL Rate Summary effective from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025.  This Annual CIL Rate Summary, published in November 2024, contains the rates for CIL liable development across the Borough for the calendar year 2025.  The Index is based on the BCIS All-in Tender Price Index (BCIS TPI)

The index figure for 2025 (1 January to 31 December inclusive) is 391. Therefore, any CIL liable planning applications approved between 1st January 2024 and 31st December 2025 will have the indexation rate applied in accordance with the below.

Development Type

Charging schedule levy

Indexed 2024 CIL rate

Residential dwellings (C3)

£125

£204.50

Convenience retail (A1)

£150

£245.40

Student accommodation (C2)

£30

£49.08

Care home (C2)

£20

£32.72

All other uses

£0

£0

Historic CIL charges can be found below:

Relief from CIL liability

There are some circumstances where you can claim relief from the payment of CIL. These are:

  • Those building their own homes or have commissioned a home from a contractor (Self build relief)
  • A residential extension or annex built within the grounds of your own home (Self build relief)
  • Social housing provided by a local authority, private registered provider and shared ownership dwellings (Social Housing Relief)
  • Development by Charities for charitable purposes (Charitable relief)
  • Exceptional Circumstances Relief - The Council will publish an Exceptional Circumstances Statement on adoption of CIL. In very limited circumstances exceptional circumstances relief may be available from CIL but this may only happen if a S106 agreement has been entered into in respect of the planning permission which permits the chargeable development and the correct procedures in the Regulations are followed.

Information required to accompany your application

All planning applications must provide sufficient information to allow us to determine whether the development is liable to pay the levy and if so to calculate it accurately from the floor areas provided. This includes the submission of both existing and proposed floor plans for any CIL liable development. All applicants will also be required to submit the CIL Additional Information form to determine CIL liability.

Applicants should be aware that it is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly supply information which is false or misleading in a material respect to a charging or collecting authority in response to a requirement under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations (2010) as amended. A person guilty of an offence under this regulation may face unlimited fines, two years imprisonment, or both.

You should also submit the Assumption of Liability form with your application. If these forms are missing from your application it may result in your application being invalid.

CIL administration process

For cases where planning permission is not required (for example permitted development applications) but CIL is payable a Notice of Chargeable Development must be submitted before work starts.

Where your proposed development needs planning permission please follow the steps below.

Step 1 - Provide CIL Information

CIL Questions form

All applications must include a completed Planning Application additional information requirement CIL question form otherwise it will be deemed invalid. There are supplementary guidelines on completing the form available. The information supplied on this form will help us determine whether or not CIL is payable, and if it is, a provisional CIL amount.
 

CIL Assumption of Liability form

If you know at this point who the person or party is that will be paying the CIL charge you should also submit an Assumption of Liability form.

We strongly encourage you to do when you make your application.

Claiming Relief from CIL

If you consider that your development, or part of it, is eligible for relief from CIL you will need to submit one of the following forms, after having submitted an Assumption of Liability form:

 

Again, we strongly encourage you to do this as early as possible, failure to complete and return the appropriate forms within the time limes specified in the Regulations will result in no CIL relief being granted.

Step 2 - Liability Notice

If planning permission is granted we will issue a CIL Liability Notice which will detail how much CIL will be payable.

Step 3 - Commencing Work on Site

Prior to any work starting on site you must have submitted both the:

If you are claiming any relief from CIL (as detailed in Step 1) this must also have been done before work starts. Failure to do this may result in the loss of the right to payment by instalments (where applicable) and the imposition of a surcharge.

Step 4 – Making Payment

Upon receipt of the Commencement Notice we will prepare and send a CIL Demand Notice detailing the amount of CIL payable and when it is due. If no-one has assumed liability to pay CIL before the Demand Notice is issued, then the liability defaults to the owner(s) of the land.

If there have been any changes of circumstances regarding the liability of the person or party who has assumed liability to pay CIL you will need to submit either a Withdrawal of Assumption of Liability form or a Transfer of Assumed Liability form before the final payment of CIL is due.

An invoice will be sent giving details of how payment can be made. When making payment please quote the account and invoice number to ensure the money is allocated correctly.

  • Late payment interest is charged (Regulation 87) The interest is calculated for the period starting on the day after the day payment was due and ending on the day the unpaid amount is received at an annual rate of 2.5% points above the Bank of England base rate.
  • Surcharge for the late payment (Regulation 85).  A surcharge equal to 5% of the liable amount outstanding or £200, whichever is the greater amount, is charged if any part of the CIL liability is not received after the end of the period of six months, beginning with the day the payment is due.
  • The chargeable amount payable is a local land charge, this charge remains on the Land Charges Register until all the outstanding amounts have been paid.