Waverley Borough Council has listened to its residents and has asked officers to consider options for introducing a discretionary review of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charges for historic householder cases.
A detailed report has been published for consideration by the council’s Overview and Scrutiny (Services) Committee on 23 June, setting out options and recommending a discretionary review process in line with CIL Regulations.
The Community Infrastructure Levy is a planning charge on new developments to help fund the infrastructure required to support growth. This includes improvements to roads, schools, parks, healthcare facilities and community spaces. By ensuring developers contribute fairly, CIL plays a crucial role in making communities sustainable, connected and resilient. Waverley Borough Council’s CIL charging schedule came into effect on 1 March 2019 following two public consultations and examination by an independent inspector. The operation of CIL is set out in the national CIL Regulations 2010.
Waverley Borough Council is proposing a package of measures to strengthen the way CIL is collected and allocated, including:
1) Introducing a discretionary review of CIL liable residential extensions and annexes, which will be undertaken by an independent, professionally qualified, and suitably experienced person.
2) Reviewing the council’s approach to CIL enforcement to make sure it is fair, reasonable and proportionate.
3) Lobbying Central Government for reform of national CIL Regulations to make them simpler and fairer for residents building a home extension.
4) Carrying out an independent review of CIL charging rates alongside work on the council’s new Local Plan.
Councillor Liz Townsend, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Economic Development, said:
“We recognise that some homeowners feel they have been treated unfairly under these national rules. I would like to thank them for sharing their experiences and in response to this, we are proposing to introduce a formal process so that these cases can be reviewed. This discretionary review will give homeowners the opportunity to have their case reassessed if they believe CIL was applied incorrectly. If the council has made an error, we will work to put this right, because we are committed to making CIL work for all of our residents.
“The national legislation governing CIL is complex and significantly limits what we can influence locally. However, we’re committed to making improvements wherever possible, and that’s what this new approach aims to achieve.”
Residents can find full details of all the proposed changes on the council’s website at www.waverley.gov.uk/CILproposals.
Once the proposed changed have been evaluated by the Overview and Scrutiny (Services) Committee on 23 June, the council’s Executive Committee will decide which changes to adopt at its meeting on Tuesday 1 July.
ENDS