West Oxfordshire District Council Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) draft gets the go ahead for public consultation.
CIL is a charge levied per square metre on most new development, which is to be used for improvements to the local infrastructure such as roads and new leisure facilities.
This is a significant change, as once the schedule is adopted the charge will apply to all future planning applications as well as those that are awaiting determination.
It is anticipated the council will publish the draft CIL Charging Schedule for a six-week consultation. Following that, if no issues are raised the Council expect to submit the schedule for examination with adoption following in the summer.
The proposed residential charging schedule and non-residential charging schedules are as follows:
| Residential Floorspace (zoned) | ||||
| Zone | 1 – 10 dwellings | 11+ dwellings | Extra-care housing | Strategic sites |
| Low | £200 | £100 | £100 | Unknown |
| Medium | £250 | £125 | £100 | Unknown |
| High | £300 | £150 | £100 | Unknown |
| Non-residential Floorspace (district-wide) | |
| All non-residential uses (except retail) | £0 per m2 |
| Food supermarket retail (A1) | £100 per m2 |
The low zone is expected to cover the key settlements of Carterton and the surrounding area. The medium zone is expected to cover settlements such as Witney, Charlbury and Chipping Norton whilst the high charge zone covers the rest of the district, including Woodstock and Cassington. These zones are shown in the image below.
There are some exemptions to the charge, including for some residential annexes and extensions, self-build houses and flats.
The cabinet approved the CIL charging schedule for public consultation and subject to no significant issues being raised the council plan to submit the document for examination. It is currently expected the examination will take place through summer.
Should you wish to understand what this could mean for your land and developments or whether CIL would apply to an upcoming project, please get in touch.
