Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

What is CIL?

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that local councils in England and Wales place on new developments, like housing or commercial buildings. The money collected from this charge is used to fund local infrastructure, such as schools, roads, parks, playgrounds, and other facilities that benefit the community.

In simple terms, when a new building is constructed, the developer has to pay a fee to the Council. This fee helps ensure that the area has the necessary services and amenities to support the new growth. The goal is to make sure that as the community grows, so does the infrastructure that everyone relies on.

As the planning authority, Swindon Borough Council collects this money and passes some on to town and parish councils to allocate in their area.  Swindon Borough Council CIL information page [opens in a new tab]

Parish/town councils receive 15% of the CIL charge on each development in their area, however, because Hannington Parish Council has an adopted Neighbourhood Plan it receives 25% of the CIL charge. The CIL income is paid to parish/town councils to be spent by those councils on offsetting the impacts of development in the area.

Town and parish councils have to adhere to the CIL Regulations 2010 (as amended) when it comes to spending CIL monies that they receive. Monies received by the town/parish council under Payment A can be spent on the following:

1. The provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure;
2. Anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area.

The money received under Payment B can be spent on the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure only.