ET Planning were delighted to receive news this week that an appeal against the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, submitted on behalf of their client has been successful, resulting in an enormous financial win for the client.
A Section 73 application had been submitted earlier this year for a residential development in Ascot which proposed permission be granted for two new dwellings following the demolition of an existing dwelling. The strategy put forward in this application, proposed that the development be undertaken with a specific phased approach in order to optimise the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) liabilities for the benefit of the client. This approach would allow the existing dwelling’s floorspace to be discounted from the first of the two new plots in terms of CIL liability. The second plot would then be able to secure self-build status which is exempt from a CIL charge.
The local council disputed the CIL implications of this approach and charged a CIL liability notice to the client totalling over £100,000 spreading the offset of existing floor area across both development plots. ET Planning took this forward as an appeal on behalf of the client, and the Appeal Inspector upheld ET Planning’s strategised approach and agreed the CIL regulations specify the offset of existing floor area must be applied in the first instance to the first phase of development with only any left over offset applicable to the second phase. The CIL bill was then reduced in this case to just over £45,000, saving the client £55,000 from the CIL liability the Council was trying to claim applied.
The combined strategy of phasing the small development with a Section 73 application, deliberately seeking a self build exemption for the second plot, has saved the client a combined CIL liability of £150,000.
This is a great result for our client and another CIL appeal win for our company.
We pride ourselves on thinking ‘outside’ the box when it comes to planning applications as well as working in the best interests of our clients and communities. CIL Specialist Planner Lyana Powlesland did a fantastic job securing this win for our client.
Director Emily Temple
If you have a vision for a proposed development and would like to discuss the best planning options for this, please call ET Planning today to discuss further, or you can check some of our other CIL related services.