CIL COMMENCEMENT NOTICES - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

 I think that unless the liable party can prove that he submitted the commencement notice, the development has commenced and exceptions are null and void. The following possibilities occur to me;

1) He advised someone at the Council (by phone,letter or e-mail)  that he was commencing the development without using the form, in which case it does not have legal status and           exemptions are null and void. Perhaps whoever recieved the call/e-mail/letter was not aware of its relevance to CIL.

2) The form was recieved and has gone missing at the Council end - having been directed to the wrong department who didn't know what it was or who it was for.

If this were the case - and there is proof - it would be reasonable to accept that notice has been served in line with the regs and process the exemption.

Do you have a process for acknowledging reciept ahead of issuing the Demand Notice?.

3) He didn't submit anything and is making the whole thing up

Regulation 67(4) says that the collecting authority must send an acknowledgement of the receipt of the commencement notice (CN) to the person who submitted it. So until the applicant receives confirmation that the authority has the CN, it could be argued that their development shouldn't commence. I'd guess this is where the "must be submitted...no later than the day before the day development is due to commence..." guidance comes in (Reg67(1)) - to allow the authority chance to confirm receipt before commencement.  If I was a developer, I'd want to receive all confirmations so as not to risk my relief!  As it stands they've lost the relief.  It's up to them to prove they submitted the CN, or try an appeal.

Our Liability Notices also set out that a Commencement Notice (CN) and an Assumption of Liability form are required before commencement, explains the penalties that apply if these are not received, sets out that we will acknowledge receipt of the CN and sets out that a Demand Notice will be issued shortly after the CN is received.

We also issue demand notices for zero amounts – for consistency and completeness of record.

At most stages of the CIL admin process, the regs say we need to acknowledge the form or notice we receive, which serves to provide the applicant with confirmation that they have met each of the CIL requirements. It’s therefore in the applicant’s interest to ensure they receive them. You’re right in that there’s nothing stated in the regs to say the developer has to wait for confirmation of receipt of the CN.  But if developers are aware that they should receive a CN receipt, or a Demand Notice (DN), then surely the absence of a receipt, or DN, should then raise alarm bells that the CN hasn’t been received/recorded by the council and place the onus on the developer to check receipt, rather than risk the Council deem a commencement and subsequently lose their relief?  Otherwise, it will be all too easy to say forms have been lost in post.