More Mayoral CIL: Spatial Development Strategies and the complexity of multiple charging schedules.

Regular readers may have spotted that I do some of my best work in soft play centres. Today is no exception*.

For some reason, watching my children navigate giant inflatable obstacles, novelty slides and a myriad of other small people, got me thinking about local government reform. In particular, one of the powers proposed for the new Mayoral Authorities - the ability to introduce Mayoral CIL to their areas.**

Last week, MHCLG published a series of consultations on the proposal to establish six new mayoral combined authorities in:

• Cumbria,
• Cheshire and Warrington,
• Norfolk and Suffolk, 
• Greater Essex, 
• Sussex and Brighton; and 
• Hampshire and the Solent

Tucked away near the bottom of paragraph 3.4 of each of these consultations is the following wording:

“The government has recently announced that, in all parts of the country, groups of councils will be required to work together to develop Spatial Development Strategies (SDS). In this area, that work would be led by the Mayoral Combined County Authority, with the Mayor empowered to develop and propose the SDS. Once an SDS is in place, the Mayor would also be given powers, similar to those held by the Mayor of London, to ‘call in’ planning applications of ‘strategic importance’. These powers will enable Mayors to scrutinise the most significant planning proposals in their area to ensure they support the SDS. The Mayor would also receive the ability to charge new developments (such as developments led by private sector housebuilders) in their area. This is known as a ‘Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy’ and the revenue collected is used to help deliver local infrastructure.”

Mayoral CIL has been around in London for a very long time. It has been a feature of the Levy from the beginning.

Indeed, s.206 of the Planning Act 2008 states:

However, London has always been a special case in CIL World. 

The Mayor of London is the only mayor who is entitled to be a charging authority under the Planning Act 2008 or the CIL Regulations. In addition, Greater London is the only part of the country where more than one charging authority is permitted. In all other parts of England, there can be only one*!.

This is important to keep in mind, for a couple of reasons:

1. If the new mayoral authorities are to be given the power to levy Mayoral CIL in their areas, this will require changes to the Planning Act 2008 and, most likely, the CIL Regulations; and
2. Many local planning authorities in the new mayoral areas already charge CIL. Unlike the London Boroughs, where Mayoral CIL has always been a part of the regime, however, those charging schedules will not have been created with the possibility of a second CIL levy being introduced in mind.

Let's take Chichester*^ as an example. Chichester's current CIL charging rates for 2025 are as follows:

These rates were set, examined and adopted on the basis that they strike, in the Council's opinion, the right balance between the desirability of funding infrastructure through CIL and the impact of the levy on the viability of development in the borough.

They were not set with any regard to any potential additional levy being introduced in the area. They didn't have to be. 

According to the CIL Regs (extract below) that is only a requirement for London Boroughs, and then only for rates set by the Mayor of London.

There are a lot of CIL charging authorities in Sussex. Each of them having set their charging schedules on the basis of the viability of their area, without factoring in the possibility of a future mayoral levy being imposed.

It probably goes without saying, but each Sussex charging authority's rates are… well… different. If you want to see how different:

• Arun's charging schedule can be found here.
• Brighton's is here
• Worthing's is here; and
• Crawley's is here

Layering a single set of mayoral charging rates over all of these different local rates without impacting the viability of developments in the area is not going to be easy. In fact, it is likely to be fiendishly complicated.

You might think that the way around this is to revise all of the individual CIL charging schedules in a new mayoral combined authority when the Mayoral CIL is adopted - possibly alongside the adoption of the spatial development strategy. 

This might be theorectially possible, but it would require a herculean effort of administrative co-ordination. One that seems unlikely given that:

• Most charging authorities are district or borough councils;
• District and borough councils are not members of the new combined mayoral authorities; and
• They are also being asked to draw up proposals for moving to unitary authorities as I type.

When you combine this with the fact that:

• There is no legal mechanism for reviewing a CIL charging schedule - instead you have to go through the entire process for adopting a new one completely from scratch (including going through public consultation and examination);
• And, unlike local plans, there is no “lifespan” on a CIL charging schedule or any set expectations for when it should be revisited or replaced - beyond the fact that it would be sensible to review it alongside a new local plan

It means that the political will and local resources for such a large-scale CIL review are very unlikely to be in place. At least in the short to medium term.

Taking all of the above together, it looks as if, much like when I release my children into a busy softplay,*+ the introduction of Mayoral CIL by the new mayoral combined authorities has the potential to get very messy and chaotic indeed.

*This post is brought to you from Raglan Farm Park, home of multiple softplay frames, a giant inflatable tractor, an actual functioning lambing shed and some of the best health and safety signage I have ever seen. 

**Yes. I have turned procrastination into an artform. No. I don't understand the connection either.

*! CIL is a bit like The Highlander in that respect.

*^ chosen solely because a) the Council falls within one of the proposed new mayoral  areas and b) they publish indexation adjusted CIL rates on their website.

*+ Ahhhh…. there's the connection

Once an SDS is in place, the Mayor would also be given powers, similar to those held by the Mayor of London, to ‘call in’ planning applications of ‘strategic importance’. These powers will enable Mayors to scrutinise the most significant planning proposals in their area to ensure they support the SDS. The Mayor would also receive the ability to charge new developments (such as developments led by private sector housebuilders) in their area. This is known as a ‘Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy’ and the revenue collected is used to help deliver local infrastructure.”