The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a complicated matter which impacts many planning applications and appeals.
The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) on behalf of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), with the support of the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, developed an annual index to ensure levy charges respond to market conditions - essentially, the index rate ensures the levy keeps up with modern costs.
Due to the way a CIL liability is calculated, as the Index figure rises, the CIL charge per square metre for development also rises.
The Index is an annual figure which is prepared and maintained by BCIS. In October 2023, the BCIS published the index figure for 2024, which is 381.
For context, Viable Placemaking have set out the CIL index figures for the last five years below:
Year | Index |
2020 | 334 |
2021 | 333 |
2022 | 332 |
2023 | 355 |
2024 | 381 |
Clearly, the index rate has risen substantially in recent years and this has the potential to greatly impact the costs and viability of many schemes, for homeowners and developers alike.
Viable Placemaking have extensive experience navigating CIL and, as a town planning consultancy with a specialism in development economics, are acutely able to navigate the various CIL and planning strategies which can assist in addressing a liability.
For example, VP have assisted a fellow planning consultant in removing a £20k CIL charge for a homeowner in the South East (you can read more on this project here).
More recently, VP acted on behalf of a professional property developer to assist with a Regulation 113 Review to address a Liability Notice which was received.
If you have received a CIL Liability or Demand Notice with a charge you did not expect, the first thing to do is to seek professional advice as soon as possible as many CIL strategies are time-sensitive, so it is important to act fast and effectively.
As we say in our CIL service page, the first point to note is that if you’ve received a CIL notice that you do not start development, if you have not already done so, as this can reduce the number of strategies which could mitigate or reduce your CIL charge.
If you have any questions on how CIL might impact your development, please don't hesitate to get in touch.