Planning obligations

Types of Community Infrastructure Levy

In Enfield, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is split into 2 types.

Enfield CIL

Each year, we collect receipts from residential and other types of development to help fund infrastructure (although there are some exceptions, such as schools, health facilities and self-build housing). The way this is broken down is shown in the table below.

Type	Percentage of total receipts	Commentary
Strategic	80%	Receipts can only be spent on capital projects to fund a wide range of infrastructure projects
Neighbourhood	15% (or up to 25% in a neighbourhood planning area)	Receipts can be spent on both capital projects and revenue projects, such as the maintenance of infrastructure. However, it does not have to be spent in the same area as the development.
Administration	5%	This covers administrative expenses (for example, staff costs)

Mayoral CIL

We also collect receipts on behalf of the Mayor of London. Funds raised through the levy are used to help pay towards Crossrail 2.

CIL notices, charges and appeals

Liability for Community Infrastructure Levy charges

When planning permission is granted for a CIL-liable development, we will issue a CIL liability notice alongside the planning decision notice. The CIL liability notice will tell you the amount of CIL you need to pay before you start development. If you do not need planning permission and you start development (under general consent or prior approval), you may still need to pay CIL if either:

the development comprises 100 square metres or more of new floor space
the development comprises one or more new dwellings

If your proposal meets any of the requirements for the payment of CIL, then you will need to complete the additional information form on the Planning Portal.

Where CIL charges do not apply

A CIL charge will not apply in the following circumstances:

Development of less than 100 square metres (unless a whole dwelling)
Houses, flats, residential annexes and residential extensions built by 'self-builders' (subject to meeting the relief criteria and submission of a valid claim form prior to commencement)
Social housing (subject to meeting the relief criteria and submission of a valid claim form prior to commencement)
Charitable development (subject to meeting the relief criteria and submission of a valid claim prior to commencement)
Vacant buildings brought back into the same use
Change of use, conversion and sub-division, where the building has been in continuous lawful use for 6 months within the 3-year period prior to planning permission, and does not create any new floor space
Structures, such as pylons and wind turbines
New buildings granted planning permission before April 2013, by way of a general consent
Buildings, such as electricity sub stations, that people only use for maintenance purposes
Mezzanine floors inserted into an existing building (unless they form part of a wider planning permission that seeks to provide other works as well)

Before you begin development

Before development starts, the person paying the CIL needs to submit a commencement notice (PDF) and an assumption of liability notice (PDF) to cil@enfield.gov.uk. If we do not receive these, the charge automatically defaults to the owners of the land. A surcharge may apply to each person(s) liable to pay the levy if development starts before liability is assumed.

On receipt of the commencement notice, we will issue a demand notice seeking payment.

Instalment policy

The Enfield CIL instalment policy (PDF, 31.17 KB) applies to larger developments and explains when CIL payments will need to be paid across the timeframe of a development. As set out in the revised policy (PDF, 37.34 KB), the threshold that developers pay towards CIL can be split into 2 instalments from £500,001 to £100,001.

For more information about CIL, please read the guidance on Planning Portal. More information can also be found on the Planning Advisory Service.

Appeals

You can make appeals against all aspects of the Community Infrastructure Levy, including the chargeable amount and the imposition of surcharges.

Advice on how to appeal and all the relevant forms can be found on the GOV.UK.

CIL enforcement

To make sure the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) collection process goes smoothly, we have various enforcement powers. These include surcharges, interest charges, stop notices, and in extreme cases, seizing assets and even prison.

It is up to us to decide what enforcement action, if any, should be taken to ensure payment.

Surcharges and interest

The following table summarises the types of surcharges and interest that can be applied if the CIL payment procedure is not followed.

Type	Amount	Trigger and details
Failure to assume liability before work starts (Regulation 80)	£50 on each person liable to pay CIL.	If work starts and no one has taken on CIL liability.
Apportionment of liability (Regulation 81)	£500 on each material interest and loss of payment rights.	If work starts, no one has taken on CIL liability, and there is more than one material interest in the land.
Failure to submit a notice of chargeable development (Regulation 82)	20% of the chargeable amount, up to a maximum of £2,500.	If work starts before we have received a valid notice of chargeable development, where planning permission is granted by a general consent.
Failure to submit a commencement notice (Regulation 83)	20% of the chargeable amount, or £2,500 (whichever is the lower).	If work starts before we have received a valid commencement notice.
Failure to notify a disqualifying event (Regulation 84)	20% of the chargeable amount, or £2,500 (whichever is the lower).	If a required notification is not made within 14 days of the disqualifying event, for example relief-related.
Late payment (Regulations 85 and 87)	5% of the overdue amount, starting at £200, (can be imposed on 3 occasions – when 30-day period, 6-month period and 12-month period ends, counting from the day when debt is initially due), and late payment interest at 2.5% above the Bank of England base rate.	If the amount is not received in full after the end of the 30-day period, beginning with the day on which payment is due.
Failure to comply with an information notice (Regulation 86)	20% of the relevant amount, up to a maximum of £1,000.	If a requirement of an information notice is not met within 14 days, beginning with the day on which the notice is served.

Recovery of CIL charges

For persistent non-compliance, we may take more direct action to recover the amount due.

Stop notices and injunctions

If work has started and the levy has not been paid, a stop notice can be used to halt development until payment is made. Ignoring this notice is a criminal offence with potentially unlimited fines.

Before serving a CIL stop notice, we will first issue a warning to the person liable to pay the amount, the land’s owners, occupiers, and all those who we think will be affected by the notice. We will also post a warning on the site itself. This warning will set out the amount overdue and the number of days after which a CIL stop notice may be served if payment continues not to be made.

As an alternative to using the stop notice, we can seek a court injunction preventing the commencement or continuation of the development where there is an actual or apprehended breach of a stop notice.

Applying for a liability order

After a reminder notice, we can ask a magistrates court for a liability order to seize and sell assets to recover the amount.

Distress (asset seizure)

We can seek court consent to seize and sell assets, including land, to recover the money due. We must send you notice of our intention to do so beforehand.

Commitment to prison

If all other options fail, we can ask the Court to imprison the debtor if we cannot recover the amount by seizing and selling assets.

Applying to court for a charging order following procurement of liability order

Where a liability order is made and more than £2,000 is still owed, we can ask the court to secure the outstanding amount with a charging order.

Insolvency action

This can be considered if other methods fail.

Recovery in court

We can recover the amount in a court of competent jurisdiction, including small claims court.

Enforcing the local land charge

We can secure payment by placing a charge over the land and ask the court to enforce it, especially where development has been stopped.

Further information

CIL payment enforcement procedures are set out in Part 9 of the Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010 (as amended).

For guidance on the CIL, including the collection and enforcement process, visit GOV.UK – Community Infrastructure Levy.

You may be able to appeal against a surcharge or a CIL stop notice. For more information, see government guidance on CIL appeals.

For more information, including the forms required to be submitted as a part of the CIL collection process, visit the Planning Portal.

Section 106

Section 106 is a legally-binding agreement that is negotiated between us and the developer to mitigate the impacts of development on a site-specific basis. S106 is used to secure financial contributions towards the provision of infrastructure, such as:

education provision (for example, primary and secondary schools)
provision or adoption of new highways and public rights of way, and
creation, maintenance and adoption of open space and recreation facilities

S106 can also provide non-monetary benefits (for example, affordable housing, apprenticeships and travel plans).

Most planning obligations will involve payment of a one-off fee. However, depending on the specific nature of a scheme, contributions may be required towards the ongoing costs of running a facility or providing a service (for example, maintenance of parks and air quality monitoring).

When S106 agreements are used

Section 106 agreements can only be used where they are:

necessary to make a development acceptable in planning terms
directly related to the development, and
related in scale and kind to the development

S106 agreements are negotiated as part of the approval process in respect of outline or detailed planning permissions (but not reserved matters). Payments are usually paid in instalments at specific agreed stages of the construction process (known as 'trigger points').

However, planning permission will only be granted once the Section 106 agreement has been signed.

The Section 106 Supplementary Planning Document (PDF, 2762.17 KB) (adopted in November 2016) sets out our approach to negotiating Section 106 agreements.

For residential developments, financial and non-monetary contributions are generally sought on developments of ten or more units, irrespective of floorspace.

For commercial developments, financial and non-monetary contributions will generally be sought on developments of more than 1,000 square metres.

There may, however, be instances where contributions are sought to mitigate the impact of smaller developments on the highway, public realm or where there has been a loss of retail or employment.

Fees

You should note that the following fees are charged in respect of the administration and monitoring of Section 106 agreements:

up to 5% of the total value of financial contributions
a fixed charge to manage non-monetary obligations of £350 per obligation
a separate one-off fee of £250 (in respect of variations to the original S106 agreement)

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Planning obligations