Community Infrastructure Levy
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was adopted by the Council on 23 October 2014 and came into effect from 1 April 2015. A summary of the Charging Schedule can be found below whilst the full Charging Schedule can be found here. The original Regulation 123 list is available here, and latest Infrastructure Funding Statement here. Please note that the Charging Schedule is index linked to the BCIS All-in Tender Price Index (see section below). This will take effect from 1st April each year.
| Type of development | Charging Schedule |
|---|---|
| Residential (Town Centre, Sheerwater and Maybury) | £75 per square metre |
| Residential (rest of the Borough) | £125 per square metre |
| Retail (all types) | £75 per square metre |
| All other commercial and non-residential uses | Nil (£0 per square metre) |
What is the Community Infrastructure Levy?
Woking Borough Council has decided to adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) as its primary means of securing developer contributions towards infrastructure provision in the Borough. CIL is a standardised non-negotiable levy that is charged to new development to raise funds to deliver infrastructure to support development the Council, local community or neighbourhood wants - for example, new or safer road schemes, park improvements or a new health centre.
The definition of infrastructure is wide and includes a range of services and facilities provided by both public and private bodies. For the purposes of the Core Strategy, the definition of infrastructure is that set out below:
- Transport: road network, cycling and walking infrastructure, rail network, parking
- Housing: affordable housing
- Education: further and higher education, secondary and primary education, nursery schools and other early years provision
- Health: acute care and general hospitals, mental hospitals, health centres/primary care trusts, ambulance services
- Social and community infrastructure: supported accommodation, social and community facilities, sports centres, open spaces, parks and play space
- Public services: waste management and disposal, libraries, cemeteries, emergency services (police, fire, ambulance), places of worship, prisons, drug treatment centres
- Utility services: gas supply, electricity supply, heat supply, water supply, waste water treatment, telecommunications infrastructure
- Flood alleviation measures
- Green infrastructure: parks and gardens, natural and semi-natural urban greenspaces, green corridors, outdoor sports facilities, amenity greenspace, provision for children and young people, allotments, cemeteries and churchyards, accessible countryside in urban fringe areas, river and canal corridors, green roofs and walls
CIL will replace the current Section 106 (S106) system where planning contributions are negotiated on a case by case basis. However, in certain instances S106 agreements may still be required in addition to CIL.
Examination on the Community Infrastructure Levy
The Examiner's Report was received by the Council 9 July 2014. The Examiner's Report concludes that the Woking Borough Council Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule provides an appropriate basis for the collection of the levy in the Borough. It recommends minor modifications to meet the statutory requirements.
The CIL examination hearing which was scheduled for Wednesday 11 June 2014 was cancelled following a note from the Examiner. The Examiner's report is based on written representations received.
For more information please see the CIL Examination page.
Public consultation on the Community Infrastructure Levy
The Council prepared its Draft Charging Schedule following consideration of comments made from the first round of consultation in early 2013 on Woking's Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule. The Draft Charging Schedule can be found here.
The public consultation on the Draft Charging Schedule took place from Monday 22 July until Friday 30 August 2013.
The Council has published a number of documents that have been used as evidence to inform the Draft Charging Schedule. These include:
- Community Infrastructure Levy Viability Study;
- Community Infrastructure Levy - Topic Paper on Infrastructure Funding Gap;
- Map illustrating where differential charging rates will apply; and
- Strategic Environmental Assessment - Draft Screening Statement
The Council also conducted an analysis of the consultation response to the Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule to inform the preparation of the Draft Charging Schedule, which is available upon request from the Planning Policy team.
The CIL process
The Council considered representations to the Draft Charging Schedule and proposed some modifications which were sent to the Secretary of State for Examination. The proposed modifications can be found here:
Draft Charging Schedule: proposed modifications
How will Woking Borough Council be calculating the charge?
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The levy will be charged per square metre net additional increase of floorspace. It will apply to most new buildings, but affordable housing and any development for charitable purposes is exempt from the charge.
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The levy's rates should be based on evidence of the infrastructure needed, although the levy is not intended to be the main source of finance for infrastructure.
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The charging authority identifies indicative infrastructure projects and the gap in the funding of these projects to calculate the aggregate funding gap the levy is intended to address. However, this should be balanced against viability.
- The levy is considered to be more transparent and straightforward than planning obligations. However, planning obligations may still have a role to play in terms of site specific infrastructure that mitigates the specific impacts of a development.
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CIL payments will be indexed.
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In setting a charging schedule there is a consultation requirement and the schedule will be independently examined. Councils will be required to correct charges that the examiner considers to be unreasonable.
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Differential rates can be set based on uses (not necessarily use classes) and/or area.
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The levy can be paid in kind (land and any existing buildings)
How is indexation applied?
In accordance with Regulatio 121C of the CIL Regulations, charging authorities must publish an annual CIL rate summary between 2nd December and 31st December each year in relation the the next calendar year. For a given year, the indexed rate is calculated in accordance with the below formula:
R x Iy / Ic
Where:
- R is the charging rate
- Iy is the index figure for the relevant calendar year; and
- Ic is the index figure for the calendar year in which the charging schedule rate R took effect.
The index figures for 2024 (January 1st to December 31st inclusive) are as below:
| Year | Index Figure |
|---|---|
| 2015/16 (the year in which the Charging Schedule took effect) | 259 |
| 2024 (the relevant calendar year) | 381 |
By way of example, were permission to be granted on 1st January 2024 for a town centre residential development, the indexed charging rate would be
£75 x 381 / 259 = £110.32 per sqm.
Please see CIL Rate Summaries for each year below:
The full Annual CIL Rate Summary for 2024 is available here.
The full Annual CIL Rate Summary for 2023 is available here.
The full Annual CIL Rate Summary for 2022 is available here.
Further information regarding CIL
All government legislation and Guidance regarding CIL can viewed on the following Government website: