The examiners report into the proposed CIL charging schedule for Cheshire East was published just before Christmas, and the Council’s case has taken something of a battering. Rates in parts of the district were significantly reduced following a detailed case led and presented by Paul G Tucker QC, instructed by Sebastian Tibenham and Jonathan Burns at Pegasus acting on behalf of Tatton Estates. Paul Tucker observed:
“This case demonstrates that CIL rates can be successfully challenged where they aren’t well founded on a sound evidence base, and where a tenacious consultancy team has subjected the Council’s case to rigorous scrutiny. In this case the Council were forced to disclose important parts of their evidence base which the Inspector found didn’t support their conclusions.â€
The case also provided a triumph for local residents at Handforth who successfully argued that the Council were wrong to ascribe a zero rate to the Handforth Growth Village, which would have deprived Handforth Parish Council of a substantial revenue stream had the District Council’s case been upheld.
