Can a Council Enforce CIL Payments Years After Approval?
Author: Jim Ryan
Key Contacts: Steve Morris and Jim Ryan
Shropshire Council (the “LPA”) granted planning permission in 2015 for the erection of a new detached dwelling and garage on land at Ellesmere. The planning permission was implemented, but it remained incomplete at the material time.
A CIL liability to the LPA of just over £39,500, remained unpaid, so the LPA issued a CIL Stop Notice (the “Notice”) which took effect on 26th September 2022, and required all building work to cease until the Notice was withdrawn. The Notice would be withdrawn when the outstanding CIL payment was made.
The landowner applied to the Planning Court to judicially review the LPA’s decision to issue the Notice. The application on the papers was refused by the court, as was a renewal application. The landowner, however, appealed to the Court of Appeal and permission to proceed was then granted.
At the hearing in November 2024[1], the only ground of appeal which was pursued was a submission that the LPA’s demand for payment, which had been issued on 13th August 2015, was time-barred under section 9 of the Limitation Act 1980 (the “Act”). It was argued that the issue of the Notice was an “action” to recover a sum within the meaning of section 9(1) of the Act, but in its judgment the Court disagreed.
The LPA was thus not prevented issuing the Notice and the landowner remained liable for the outstanding CIL payment.
Although a CIL payment of just over £39,500 is a significant sum of money, it is thought-provoking to consider whether paying the CIL would have been less expensive than the subsequent legal battle seeking to avoid the payment.
If you have any queries about this issue, please contact Jim Ryan and the Planning and Environmental Team.
[1] Captain Lee Jones -v- Shropshire Council [2025] EWHC 365 (Admin)
