Section 106 

In England, most authorities charge Section 106 planning contributions, so do your research and ensure that any fee does not go unbudgeted. This can be complicated as amounts vary by application and by authority, depending on what they deem to be their needs. 

Contact your local authority and thoroughly investigate its approach at the earliest stage you can to get an indication of costs, if levied at all.

Planning contributions are often required of development to balance (mitigate) the impact of development on local infrastructure or the community. This is an agreement between the person or organisation applying for planning and the local planning authority. 

Section 106 payments are often used to support the delivery of affordable housing in England and Wales, and charges vary considerably as they are based on specific local needs, so are not tariff based, unlike CIL. 

Developer contributions can be levied in Scotland under Section 75 or under Section 76 in Northern Ireland.

Such a contribution would most likely be a payment or – on larger sites – a requirement for some affordable on-site dwellings 

CIL – Community Infrastructure Levy

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge in England and Wales only, originally introduced by the Planning Act of 2008. It is applied by councils when someone secures planning permission for most types of new building. Not all councils levy CIL, so check with yours.

Different councils charge different levels of CIL while some don’t charge it at all. Charges vary from £10/m2 to £575/m2 – see the government guidance for more.

The tax is paid by the developer and the charging point is the commencement of construction as set out in section 56(4) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 – broadly accepted as the point at which some limited works begin on site to implement a planning permission. This includes demolition and other minor groundworks, the digging of trenches, laying of pipes and changes to the use of the land.

Find out more on the Planning Portal.

The money raised by the CIL charge is used to fund a wide range of local infrastructure costs such as flood defences, schools, hospitals and other health and social care facilities, parks, green spaces and leisure centres.

Any new build house, flat or an extension of more than 100 square metres gross internal floor space is likely to incur a CIL charge (where a council has introduced the CIL regime).

CIL Flowchart