THE £37 MILLION CIL QUESTION

THE GREAT SHROPSHIRE CIL SWINDLE (ALLEGEDLY, BUT YOU KNOW…)

You’ve hopefully had a good chuckle during The Elephant in the Room series — the vanishing FOIs, the disappearing councillors, the council-owned companies that behave like Russian dolls with a drinking problem.

But now, dear reader, the humour gives way to the hard questions.

Because behind every joke sits a number. And behind every number sits a truth that Shropshire Council has politely avoided for over a decade:

What is CIL?

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge paid by housing developers to councils so that new homes help fund the roads, schools, GP surgeries and other infrastructure the extra population will need. In theory, it turns development into community benefit. In practice — well, that’s what we’re about to explore.

THE CIL POT THAT GREW… AND GREW… AND GREW

Here is what the council had hidden quietly in the back pocket of its trousers:
• £34,305,136.14 retained at year end 2021–22
• £34,287,910.41 retained at year end 2022–23
• £37,124,351.41 retained at year end 2023–24

A pot that large should have its own seat in the Council Chamber.

THE CHARGES THEY NEVER MADE

For over a decade, Shropshire has been collecting CIL on the lowest possible settings, while neighbouring councils set stronger rates, demanded stronger contributions, and actually spent the money they collected.

Shropshire? Not so much.

WHY WERE DEVELOPERS GIVEN A DISCOUNT? Don’t be cynical now.

Commercial development in Shropshire — business parks, retail complexes, strategic sites — has been effectively given a free pass.

No CIL. No contribution. No explanation.

It’s not a discount. It’s a gift.

WHY IS SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL STILL PLAYING THE “WE’RE BROKE” VIOLIN?

Every year, Shropshire Council releases another wobbling statement about “unprecedented financial pressures”, “tough decisions”, and “emergency savings plans”.

And every year, the CIL pot grows quietly in the background, untouched.

Broke? Really?

THE ELEPHANT WASN’T IN THE ROOM — IT WAS IN THE CIL ACCOUNT

It turns out the elephant wasn’t hiding in a meeting room, or in a committee paper, or in a redacted FOI.
It was sitting in the CIL account the whole time.
Tens of millions. Unspent. Unexplained.

THE QUESTION THAT WON’T GO AWAY

We’ve followed the trail. We’ve counted every penny. We’ve run out of excuses on their behalf.
Now let’s hear theirs:
Where did the money really go?

Or, as Arnold Schwarzenegger put it rather neatly: “I’ll be back.”
Unfortunately for Shropshire Council… I really will.