Planning permission was granted for two new agricultural buildings the primary purpose of which is to house calves during the winter as well as proving storage for hay, straw, machinery or equipment. The calves would be fed daily in the winter and there would be periodic changes to straw bedding together with movements of hay/straw and other equipment into and out of the buildings. At least one person will frequently go into the buildings. Was this a chargeable development liable for CIL?
Liable for CIL: Regulation 6 of the CIL Regulations 2010 exempts from CIL liability any development in relation to a building into which people do not normally go or which people go only intermittently for the purpose of inspecting or maintaining fixed plant or machinery.
In an appeal decision of the Valuation Office Agency published 26 January 2015 relating to the aforementioned development, it was found that the Reg 6 exemption does not apply to these agricultural buildings and that such buildings were a chargeable development liable for CIL. It ruled that the buildings would be entered daily in winter for the purpose of feeding and checking on the livestock and that reference to ‘people’ in Reg 6 could apply to one person or more than one person.
Lessons: Each case will depend upon its own facts. However, the Reg 6 exemption has limited application and many agricultural buildings which will involve at least one person regularly entering the building as part of the agricultural activities (other than for inspecting or maintaining fixed plant or machinery) will likely be outside the scope of the Reg 6 exemption.
