Dorset Council Community Infrastructure Levy

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended) was introduced by the Planning Act 2008.  It enables local authorities to deliver infrastructure in support of development in their area, through the adoption of a charging schedule. The levy is charged at a set amount per square metre of additional floor area and increases each year on 1 January, using the value published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

The CIL Regulations was amended on 1 September 2019 and detailed guidance on CIL for planning permissions granted after this date, is published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Planning permission granted before this date is subject to the previous version of the Legislation and relevant guidance.

Charging schedules

On 1 April 2019, Dorset Council became the charging authority for the rural part of the county and administers the four CIL Charging Schedules, adopted by the former councils.

• East Dorset Area (implemented 3 January 2017)
• Purbeck Area (implemented 5 June 2014)
• West Dorset Area (implemented 18 July 2016)
• Weymouth & Portland Area (implemented 18 July 2016)

Dorset Council does not operate CIL in the former North Dorset area and mitigation required to support the needs of new development is secured through section 106 legal agreements.  

A single charging schedule that will cover the whole of the Dorset Council administrative area will be developed in conjunction with the adoption of the future Dorset Council Local Plan. 

CIL rates

You can see the current rates and types of development covered by the charging schedules. The CIL Calculator will give an approximate value for the liability payable on a chargeable development. 

Please note, the published rates and calculator are for reference only and approximate to two decimal places.  Therefore, the liability calculated may not be the actual value for the floor area proposed that is stated on the Liability Notice.

The total amount of liability calculated for a development can be paid in instalments, in accordance with the instalment policies currently adopted for each Charging Schedule area.

Important procedures for CIL chargeable development

If you have a development proposal that is CIL chargeable development, you must follow the guidance issued with your liability notice, especially regarding the submission of forms and notices. Please make sure you have assumed liability for your proposal and sought relief where necessary prior to commencement.

The commencement of development is an important stage for both CIL and Building Control. If your development is CIL chargeable development, a CIL Commencement Notice must be submitted to the Dorset Council CIL Team prior to work (including any associated demolition) taking place.  This is a separate process to informing Building Control on the commencement of development

Failure to follow the correct CIL processes may result in the loss of relief and the addition of financial penalties.  If in doubt, please check with the CIL Team before commencing work.

The CIL forms used to submit information can be found on the Planning Portal website.

For advice on Building Regulation requirements before starting work, please visit the Building Control pages.

Exceptional circumstances relief

Dorset Council has determined to make relief for exceptional circumstances available from 3 September 2024, in accordance with regulations 55, 56 and 57 of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended).

The Exceptional Circumstances Relief Policy is intended for use solely in the area covered by the Purbeck Local Plan (2018-2034), adopted 18 July 2024 and specific to Local Plan Policy V1: Spatial strategy for sustainable communities.

Please contact the CIL Team if you have any questions regarding exceptional circumstances relief.

Regulation 59A. Duty to pass CIL to local councils

In accordance with CIL Regulation 59A, Dorset Council has a duty to pay a local council a proportion of the relevant CIL receipts from chargeable development that occurs within the area administered by the Town or Parish Council.  The amount paid is either 25% for councils with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan and 15% for those councils without an adopted plan. 

In accordance with CIL Regulation 59D, payments are made in April and October of each year to cover the receipts collected in the previous 6 months, respectively. Town and Parish Council CIL Payments show the amounts paid to date. 

Guidance and information about the neighbourhood proportion of CIL receipts has been produced to help the Town & Parish Councils manage the expenditure of their CIL receipts.

Infrastructure Funding Statements

In accordance with CIL Regulation 121A, the council produces an infrastructure funding statement for each financial year.  The statement reports information on the receipt and expenditure of all obligations secured by CIL and section 106 agreements. 

View the statement by year:

• Infrastructure Funding Statement 2019 to 2020
• Infrastructure Funding Statement 2020 to 2021
• Infrastructure Funding Statement 2021 to 2022
• Infrastructure Funding Statement 2022 to 2023
• Infrastructure Funding Statement 2023 to 2024

To view previous monitoring reports or other documents, contact us.

Affordable Housing Commuted Sum Calculator

From 1 June 2025 the Council will use the Dorset Council wide Affordable Housing Commuted Sum Calculator in order to calculate commuted sum amounts required for a development. Generally the calculator will be used where policy requires a financial contribution (i.e. for small sites) or where the policy requirements result in parts of units which can be provided as an affordable housing contribution. 

For relevant planning applications, applicants should download and complete the Dorset Council commuted sum calculator form and information document and submit this with their planning application through the normal route, alongside other application documents. 

Please visit the Dorset Council wide Affordable Housing Commuted Sum Calculator web guide for more information on how the calculator works.

For live applications, where we have already agreed a commuted sum amount prior to implementation of the new calculator, and this has been submitted to the legal team for the S106 agreement, then we will continue to honour this (even if the new calculator suggests a different amount), unless the applicant requests an updated figure.

Planning Legal Agreements 

Section 106 agreements are legal agreements attached to planning permissions that help to make development acceptable in planning terms. Please use the following link to see information about planning legal agreements and compliance.