Summary: Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision to charge her for a Community Infrastructure Levy payment 6 years after it granted planning permission for a new property. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as it is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council demanded a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payment 6 years after granting planning permission. She wants a refund of the payment.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mrs X and the Council. Mrs X commented on the draft version of this decision.

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What I found

4. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge introduced by the Planning Act 2008. It allows local authorities in England and Wales to help deliver infrastructure to support to develop their area. It came into force on 6 April 2010 through the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010.
5. Development may be liable for a charge under the CIL if a local planning authority has chosen to set a charge. Most development which creates net added floor space of 100 square metres or more, or creates a new home, is potentially liable for the levy.
6. Some developments may be eligible for relief or exemption from the CIL. Strict requirements apply about the timing of the exemption and usually a Commencement Notice (form 6) must also be served before beginning development for the exemption to apply.
7. A person may appeal against the collecting authority’s calculation of the chargeable amount charge (Regulation 114). The regulations state such an appeal must be made within 60 days of the date the CIL liability notice was issued.

What happened

8. Mrs X applied for planning permission to demolish her home and build a new one in its place.
9. The Council issued a CIL liability notice in July 2013. This included a blank certificate of commencement form for Mrs X to use.
10. Mrs X did not complete and return the certificate to the Council. She says she did not receive any further communications from the Council.
11. The Council says it became aware in February 2019 that Mrs X’s new property was complete, so it issued a new liability notice.
12. Mrs X disputed the charge and lodged an appeal. The Valuation Office Agency decided the appeal was invalid because it did not meet the requirements for appeals described in paragraph 7 above. As the payment was late, the Council applied a late payment surcharge. Mrs X paid the CIL liability notice including the surcharge amount. She them complained to the Council, demanding her money back.
13. Mrs X says her architect told her that CIL was not payable on self-build properties. And after receiving the CIL Liability Notice in July 2013, she telephoned the Council. Mrs X says the Council told her CIL was a trial arrangement, it would not apply to her and she did not have to pay it.
14. The Council says the letter sent with the CIL liability Notice sent to Mrs X in 2013 says:

“You must notify Shropshire Council of the date on which you intend to commence development, prior to the actual commencement of work on site, by submitting a valid Commencement Notice (Form 6). A blank Commencement Notice for you to complete is enclosed with this notice. If a valid Commencement Notice has not been submitted before development commences, payment of the CIL amount will be due in full on the day that the collecting authority believes the development to have commenced. Shropshire Council will also impose a surcharge of 20% of the total amount due up to a max of £2,500.”

15. It also says it has no record of the telephone conversation alleged by Mrs X and no written record stating it told her not to pay the charge.
16. Mrs X also complains the Council did not tell her about changes to the CIL regulations which may have exempted her as a self-builder. But the planning applicant or their agent are responsible for ensuring they have completed the correct forms and followed the relevant regulations correctly.
17. Mrs X received the CIL liability notice in 2013, this included the commencement form for her to use. The letter was clear she must return the form before work began on the site. She did not do so. I understand Mrs X says the Council told her not to pay during a telephone call to the Council. However, she has no written confirmation of this.
18. There is a significant delay of 6 years between the Council issuing the original Liability Notice in 2013 and not asking her for payment until 2019. But the Council says it did not know the build was complete until then. I accept Mrs X may have contacted the Council on various matters over the years including requesting a building control completion certificate. But she did not adhere to the strict requirements of the CIL rules and provide the Council with the commencement notice before the work started.

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Final decision

19. I will not investigate this complaint because it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome. And we cannot order the Council to refund the CIL payment.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman