The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a levy or tariff that local authorities can charge to ensure that new development contributes to the cost of the infrastructure it will rely upon, such as schools and roads.
In this district CIL will only apply to new floorspace resulting from residential and retail development including sui generis uses. It does not apply to offices, industrial or employment uses. Nor will it apply to small extensions which provide less than 100 sqm (gross) floorspace, unless development results in creation of a new dwelling. All development, regardless of size, that results in the creation of a new open market dwelling is CIL liable.
CIL is a standard fixed charge, based on a £ per square metre calculation, so it takes into account the actual size of the development. People seeking planning permission will know in advance how much they need to pay and can factor this into their development calculations. They will also know if they are likely to be exempt from payment at the outset of their development.
For more information please visit our section providing information for developers.
The money collected from developers by the council is allocated towards infrastructure projects in accordance with our CIL governance statement.
These funds are allocated to the CIL Neighbourhood Fund and to infrastructure projects.
Charging authorities must allocate a ‘meaningful proportion’ of levy revenues raised in each neighbourhood back to that neighbourhood.
This will ensure that where a neighbourhood experiences a new development, it receives sufficient money to help it manage the resulting impacts on the locality.
Currently the percentage is set at 25% in areas where there is a Neighbourhood Plan or 15% if there is no Neighbourhood Plan.
Section 106 Agreements and planning conditions also continue to be used for local infrastructure requirements on development sites for things such as site-specific local provision of open space, affordable housing, habitat protection and access roads.
The principle is that all eligible developments must pay towards CIL, as well as any site-specific requirement that is secured through Section 106 Agreements.
Parish or town councils can use this money to fund the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure; or anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.
Read our page on Neighbourhood CIL for more information.
The remaining 75-85% of the funds are apportioned to the district council for it to spend on infrastructure needed to support the development of the district.
The levy is intended to focus on the provision of new or improved infrastructure and should not be used to remedy pre-existing deficiencies unless those deficiencies will be made more severe by new development.
The distribution of CIL funding is a matter for the council to decide, but the regulations only permit expenditure of CIL funds on infrastructure projects that are included on our CIL infrastructure list.
The council is obligated, under the CIL Regulations 2019 (as amended), to produce a CIL infrastructure list and only projects on this list will be considered for CIL funding.
Rather than have a long list of projects that the council may not have sufficient funds to support or that may never be delivered, East Cambridgeshire District Council is committed to having a meaningful list of projects that:
CIL cannot be used to fund solutions to existing problems, for example traffic calming/management or on repairs to existing infrastructure in an area that hasn’t experienced housing growth.
In order to be included on the list a project must meet the criteria set and be approved by East Cambridgeshire District Council’s Full Council.
A project being included on the CIL infrastructure List does not signify a guarantee of CIL funding.
Whether a project receives CIL funding will depend on the council’s priorities at the time of the application for funding being made, and the amount of CIL funding available.
The distribution of CIL funding is a matter for the council to decide.
If you have a project that you believe could be suitable for CIL funding which is not on the list you can apply for the project to be considered for CIL funding.
To find out how we allocate CIL funds on our list and how we allocate funds where CIL from a single project exceeds £1million please see our CIL governance statement.
Charging authorities may pass money to bodies outside their area to deliver infrastructure which will benefit the development of their area, such as the Environment Agency for flood defence or, in two tier areas such as Cambridgeshire, the county council, for education and transport infrastructure. Charging authorities will also be able to collaborate and pool their revenue from their respective levies to support the delivery of ‘sub-regional infrastructure’.
You can find our more about how CIL money has been spent in East Cambridgeshire on our On the Ground in East Cambs page.
To ensure that the levy is open and transparent, charging authorities must prepare short reports on the levy for the previous financial year which must be placed on their websites by 31 December.
These reports will set out how much revenue from the levy has been received, what it has been spent on and how much is left.
To see the latest reports please go to the Infrastructure Funding Statements and Developer Contributions page.
Visit our CIL regulations page for details of legislation and guidance.
For further information, please see our relevant documents: