Spam, spam, spam, spam…Always check your junk mail!

If ever there was a reason to keep an eye on your junk mailbox (“spam”…so-called, from an old Monty Python sketch) a recent PINS decision reiterated just that when a Liability Notice which ended up in junk email box was deemed to be validly served.

Planning permission was granted on 16 January 2019 and a Liability Notice (LN) was served by the collecting authority (CA) on the same day.

The alleged breach was the failure to assume liability and to submit a commencement notice before commencing works on the chargeable development.

The applicant appealed, contending that the CA had failed to serve an LN in respect of the development to which the surcharge related.

The CA stated that the LN was sent to both the appellant and the appellant’s agent by email on 16 January 2019, in accordance with regulation 126(1)(e) of the CIL Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/948). The appellant’s agent confirmed that the email was later found in the junk email box.

The inspector considered that while it is unfortunate that the relevant email ended up in the agent’s junk email box, he was satisfied that the CA had correctly served the LN by sending it to the email address provided. The appeal under this ground therefore failed.

Read the full decision here – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/889986/1200365_CIL_Redacted.pdf