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  5. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and your development

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and your development

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge designed to help us to deliver infrastructure (such as schools, transport links, open spaces, recreational or waste facilities) to serve the residents and users of developments in our area.

CIL is payable on new developments, including housing, student accommodation, supermarkets and hotels. Development which creates additional floor space of 100 square metres or more, or creates a new dwelling of any size, will be liable for CIL. This includes development permitted by 'general consent', or permitted development (PD).

Your responsibilities

It is vital to check the most up-to-date guidance on CIL before carrying out your project. You or your planning agent should refer to our CIL Developers' Guide and GOV.UK Planning Practice Guidance to find out the information which is pertinent to your scheme. Please note we do not give free CIL advice if you are pre-commencement, because the information you need is available online in these guides.

You must complete CIL forms at planning application stage, and upon commencement, and you will receive both a CIL Liability Notice and CIL Demand Notice from us. It is very important that you read these closely and follow the instructions.

Warning You may have to pay a surcharge, if you don't follow our instructions in your CIL Liability Notice. We may take enforcement action against you, if you fail to pay your CIL Demand. Please read our CIL Surcharges and Enforcement Policy for more details

Find out if CIL applies to your development

View CIL charging zones on a map

You can check which CIL charging zone your development site falls within, using our interactive maps. Click on any zone to view the CIL rate that will be payable.

Check if you can get an exemption, or a discount on your bill

There are a number of different circumstances where you may be eligible to get an exemption from CIL (for example, self-build dwellings, or social housing schemes). You can find out more about these on the Government website, and find relevant forms to apply for a CIL exemption on the Planning Portal. We also have a policy on discretionary exceptional circumstances relief .

Warning If you are applying for a CIL exemption or relief, you must complete and submit the form for this, and have it approved, before you start works on your development, otherwise the exemption may lapse, and you may have to pay the full amount and a surcharge.

Find out what you'll need to pay

We assess whether CIL is payable, based on the location, size and type of your proposed development.

Get pre-application advice

It is your responsibility to find out the CIL information pertinent to your scheme. If you would like informal written advice from us before the commencement of your scheme, you can contact our Pre-Planning Application Advice Service. You will need to complete a pre-application advice request form and pay in advance. CIL advice is included in Service Level 1. This service covers the following areas:

  • Estimating how much CIL you may pay (from your accurate measurements of your proposed development)
  • What exemptions may be relevant to your scheme
  • Advice on process, procedure and your responsibilities for CIL

Please note we cannot provide legal advice on CIL regulations. If you require any further advice besides our best-informed views, we recommend you seek independent legal or other specialist advice.   

Get an estimate of your bill

Our CIL Charging Schedule sets out the CIL rates for different types of developments, and our CIL calculator gives you an opportunity to get an estimated figure, based on details of your development. Use them to help you to plan the costs of your development.

You will only get the exact figure which is payable when we send you a CIL liability notice. All rates in our CIL Charging Schedule and CIL calculator tool will be subject to an annual index, based on the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) CIL index. For the local rates, please refer to the B&NES Annual CIL Rates Summary.

Before you apply

Check the regulations

Ensure you read and understand the GOV.UK Planning Practice guidance and our CIL Developers' Guide.

Complete the correct forms

The complete list of CIL application forms is available on the Planning Portal. Please download the relevant form for your development. If your development has received general consent without the need for a planning application (under Permitted Development rights or prior notification, for example), you must submit a Notice of Chargeable Development to inform us.

Find out when and how you'll need to pay

Payment terms for CIL will vary, depending on the amount of your bill, as follows:

  • If your bill is less than £25,000, the total payment is due within 60 days of starting work on the development.  
  • If your bill is £25,000 or above, you can split your payment into three instalments over an 18-month period, payable at 60 days, 12 months and 18 months from starting work
  • It may also be possible to make an agreement to pay for your CIL bill via providing payment in kind (supplying land or infrastructure to us at your own expense), as set out in our Payment in Kind Policy You must make this agreement before starting work on your development.
Warning If you fail to make your CIL instalments payments on time, you will lose the option to pay by instalment, and the full CIL charge, together with any surcharges, will become due immediately.

Pay your Community Infrastructure Levy bill

Further information and guidance

How we process and apply CIL
For further information about how we apply CIL policy, calculate your bill, and may enforce payments, read our CIL Developers' Guide. You may also wish to consult information on CIL in the Government’s Planning Practice Guidance and the Planning Portal
How we spend CIL
Spending on infrastructure is a significant part of our local planning policy. We have an obligation, as a local planning authority, to publish our plans for infrastructure spending, known as the Regulation 123 List, and reports on how we use the funds raised by the Community Infrastructure Levy. To learn more, visit CIL and council spending.

Contact us

If you have a query about a CIL Notice you have received from us, and the issue is not covered in the CIL Developers' Guide and GOV.UK Planning Practice guidance, please email us at cil@bathnes.gov.uk. We aim respond in 20 working days. This service is not for pre-commencement queries. 

If you would like support with planning your development proposal and ensuring that you submit the correct information with your planning application, we recommend using our Pre-Planning Application Advice Service