THE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that local authorities can set on new development in order to raise funds to help fund the infrastructure, facilities and services – such as schools or transport improvements – needed to support new homes and businesses.
The Council formally approved its CIL Charging Schedule and supporting policies in February 2016, and charging commenced on 1 April 2016. The developer of each new house or flat has to pay a Community Infrastructure Levy, or CIL, so as to meet at least part of the cost of additional infrastructure, facilities and services, recognising the impact of new households in the area. It is funding for items such as additional class rooms, new doctors surgeries, new roads etc.
The charge is based on the size of each property, but there are exceptions. For example the levy is not applied to new social housing or on extensions. The money is not to be used for ongoing running costs or maintenance. 80% of the money, the Strategic Fund, is spent on major schemes around the whole borough, and 5% to administer the CIL scheme. The balance of 15% is available for smaller local improvement projects in each local community.
More information about how the Council identifies and decides which projects to support thorough CIL is set out in the Strategic Fund and Local Fund webpages.