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14 May 2009 / Romola Parish
Issue: 7369 / Categories: Features , Local government , Public , Community care
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It's a jungle out there

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The Community Infrastructure Levy & other animals, by Romola Parish

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A recurrent theme in planning law is the thorny issue of how best to “tax” development. This is highly topical at present when planning contributions are estimated to have fallen from £9bn last year to £3bn this year, and are expected to fall further. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), enacted by the Planning Act 2008 (PA 2008), is the latest in a long history of short-lived “development taxes”, “planning gain supplements”, and similar mechanisms that extend the reach of the existing s 106 agreements.

The CIL is one of the most controversial aspects of PA 2008 because of the way in which it restructures the basis of planning contributions to raise funds for specific regional infrastructure projects. Infrastructure is defined in PA 2008 to include roads, flood defences, educational, medical and sporting facilities, open space and housing.

As originally drafted, the rate of CIL was to be based on the increase in land value

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