England CIL rules: LPA terms saved to 31 Dec 2027
If you work in planning or development, a small but important change to Community Infrastructure Levy law takes effect today, 24 March 2026. The government has corrected an earlier commencement instrument and, crucially, kept certain older definitions alive so day-to-day CIL work continues without confusion.
What has changed is technical but clear. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 11 and Saving and Transitional Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were made on 23 March 2026. They insert an extra saving into Schedule 1 of the original Commencement No. 11 Regulations (S.I. 2026/169). According to legislation.gov.uk, this fix is issued free of charge because it corrects a defect in that earlier instrument.
The saving says that, despite the relevant parts of Schedule 7 to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 being commenced, sections 29 and 37 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 continue to have effect for the purposes of Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008, which is the law that underpins the Community Infrastructure Levy. That continuity runs until 31 December 2027.
Why this matters for you: the explanatory note states the purpose is to ensure existing references in Part 11 of the 2008 Act to a local planning authority and to a joint committee still apply. Without that saving, reforms to plan-making could have left CIL documents pointing at definitions that had just moved.
Who is affected in practice? Local planning authorities and any joint committees that exercise plan-making or collection roles, plus developers and planning agents who deal with CIL liability, reliefs and payments. If you submit, calculate, invoice or challenge CIL, this concerns you.
What you should do if you are an LPA: keep using your current CIL processes, forms and delegations that rely on the existing meanings of local planning authority and joint committee. The saving means you do not need to re-map responsibilities solely because elements of Schedule 7 have started.
What you should do if you are a developer or agent: treat your CIL liability notices, surcharges, reliefs and payment schedules as business as usual. Who you pay and who signs off remains as before, because the law continues to recognise the same bodies for CIL until the end of 2027.
Pin these dates. The amendment was made on 23 March 2026 and came into force the next day, 24 March 2026. The saving runs through to 31 December 2027. On 1 January 2028, unless further legislation says otherwise, the saving lapses and any new definitions in force will apply to CIL.
Glossary for quick reading. A saving provision keeps old rules working for specific purposes after a law changes, so systems do not break overnight. A transitional provision stages how new rules switch on, often giving organisations time to adjust. Community Infrastructure Levy is a charge on new development to help fund infrastructure. A local planning authority is your council or combined body with plan-making powers. A joint committee is a formal group of authorities exercising functions together.
What this amendment does not do: it does not rewrite CIL rates, charging schedules or the CIL Regulations 2010. It simply preserves who counts as the relevant authority for CIL purposes while wider plan-making reforms under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 bed in.
On scrutiny and impact, the instrument notes that no separate Regulatory Impact Assessment has been produced. The government points readers back to the impact assessment for the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 for the underlying policy analysis. The legal text, including the explanatory note, is published on legislation.gov.uk.
Accountability matters. The amendment regulations are signed by Matthew Pennycook as Minister of State, dated 23 March 2026. For planning teams, the practical takeaway is simple: document the saving in your guidance, brief case officers and finance colleagues, and schedule a review in late 2027 so you are ready for any further switch-over.