Developer faces £146k bill after failing to pay levy for community

20/04/26

A district judge has ordered a business to pay a total of £146k after it built homes without making any contribution towards local facilities.

Babergh District Council took court action after TTV Industrial Ltd failed to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on a housing development in Old London Road, Copdock.

Developers are required to pay CIL when building new homes – with this money then invested in helping local facilities keep pace with housing growth.

TTV Industrial Ltd, based in Old London Road, Copdock, had planning permission to build seven homes on the site, and work on the first three of these started in 2020.

As a result, the business was served a Liability Notice for the required CIL payment relating to the three homes. It later argued, however, that this notice had not been served, while also claiming the homes were exempt because they were self-build.

Babergh District Council’s attempts to resolve the matter were unsuccessful, and the business incorrectly maintained no CIL payments were due.

As a result, the council applied to magistrates’ court for a Liability Order under the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010.

After a hearing at Norwich Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Bone has ordered TTV Industrial Ltd to pay the total CIL liability of £105,475, statutory late payment interest of £31,623, and the council’s legal costs of £9,880.

Since 2018, £5.2m in CIL money has been allocated by Babergh District Council to almost 90 projects. This has included funding for additional school places, village hall upgrades, health and sporting facilities, footpaths, cycleways, play areas and pre-school provision.

Town and parish councils also receive a share of CIL contributions to spend on local projects.

Applications for District CIL funding can be made by community organisations throughout the year by completing a form on the council website.

Each request then goes through careful due diligence and a democratic approval process. Any interest earned on unallocated funds in the meantime goes back into the CIL reserve. It is not used for any other purpose.

Further information about how CIL works can be found on the councils’ website Community Infrastructure Levy - Babergh District Council - Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils - Working Together.