Planning permission was granted for the partial demolition of an existing building and the erection of a new dwelling. The building the subject of the chargeable development included an internal area with a headroom under 1.5m. Should the area be included when calculating CIL liability?
Liable for CIL: Regulation 40 of the CIL Regulations 2010 sets out the calculations of CIL liability for a chargeable development. The chargeable amount is calculated in reference to the gross internal area (GIA) of the chargeable development less any part of a relevant building that has been in lawful use for a continuous period of at least six months within the period of three years ending on the day planning permission first permits the chargeable development. A relevant building is defined as a building which is situated on the relevant land on the day planning permission first permits the chargeable development.
In an appeal decision of the Valuation Office Agency published 17th June 2016 relating to the aforementioned development, it was considered whether an internal area with a headroom under 1.5m should be included in the calculations of the GIA under Reg 40. It was determined that it should be included.
GIA is not defined in the CIL Regulations 2010. However, it was found that the generally accepted method of calculation of GIA is set out in the RICS Code of Measuring Practice (6th Edition). It provides that GIA is the area of a building measured to the internal face of the perimeter walls at each floor and includes:
- Areas occupied by internal walls and partitions;
- Columns, piers, chimney breast, stairwells, lift-wells, other internal projections, vertical ducts , and the like;
- Atria and entrance halls, with clear height above, measured at base level only;
- Internal open-sided balconies walkways and the like;
- Structural, raked or stepped floors are to be treated as level floor measured horizontally;
- Horizontal floors, with permanent access, below structural, raked or stepped floors;
- Corridors of a permanent essential nature (eg fire corridors, some lobbies);
- Mezzanine floors areas with permanent access;
- Lift rooms, plant rooms, fuel stores, tank rooms which are housed in a covered structure of a permanent nature, whether or not above the main roof level;
- Service accommodation such as toilets, toilet lobbies, bathrooms, showers, changing rooms, clears’ rooms and the like;
- Projection rooms;
- Voids over stairwells and lift shafts on upper floors;
- Loading bays;
- Areas with a headroom of less than 1.5m;
- Pavement vaults;
- Garages; and
- Conservatories.
Excluded are:
- Perimeter wall thicknesses and external projections;
- External open-sided balconies, covered ways and fire escapes;
- Canopies;
- Voids over or under structural, raked or stepped floors; and
- Greenhouses, garden stores, fuel stored, and the like in residential property.
As highlighted above, areas with headroom of less than 1.5m are included within the GIA pursuant to the RICS Code of Measuring Practice.
Lessons: The calculation of GIA when determining the amount of the CIL liability on a chargeable development should be in accordance with the RICS Code of Measuring Practice (6th Edition) (or any subsequent edition). This will be the case unless alternative guidance is published by the Government or the CIL Regs are amended to include a definition of GIA. Internal areas with headroom under 1.5m will need to be included in the calculation of the GIA (for both the new building and any existing use set-off).
