I hope I'm over-thinking this, but having read scare stories about people commencing activity prior to CIL exemption and the inability to retrospectively get exemption, I just don't want to mess it up.
We have pre-commencement conditions on our approval, but to provide the necessary information in the Arboricultural Method Statement we are having to do some root investigations (specialist using air spade - all approved by the Council Tree Officer). Basically they will dig (air spade) some holes, assess the roots present and then fill them in again with the soil levels in the same order (subsoil then topsoil).
As far as the council is concerned, this isn't commencement as I'm establishing details to provide to them in the pre-commencement reports they have requested.
Is there any definition of what will be seen as commencement from a CIL perspective? would this come anywhere close (the fact they need a generator and an air spade/lance - is this seen as an 'engineering operation'?)
If I put the CIL paperwork in for assumption of liability and then exemption stating the date of this root investigation, then the council could challenge me by saying I haven't yet met my pre-commencement conditions (which is correct - this work will inform how we meet them).
I plan to sort the pre-commencement conditions and define the tree felling as the commencement date (the only real notable clearance activity involved with the site - 2 low quality trees included in the planning approval).
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance,
David
