Agenda item

Community Infrastructure Levy Governance

This report sets out the proposed governance arrangements for apportioning, prioritising and agreeing the spend of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies on infrastructure schemes that mitigate the impact of cumulative growth in the Arun District.

 

Minutes:

(During the course of the introduction of this item, Councillor Elkins redeclared his interest made at the start of the meeting and asked to be placed in the waiting room during its debate and so did not take part in any debate or vote on this item.)

 

            The Sub-Committee received a report from the Principal Planning Officer confirming that the Council started implementing the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on 1 April 2020.

 

            Members were advised that although it potentially might take a number of years for a significant level of income to be received from CIL, it was important now to set out a method for determining how CIL receipts would be spent in the future.

 

            The proposed approach had been prepared following discussion with neighbouring CIL charging authorities and officers within various departments of the Council to understand the best approach to CIL spending and governance.  The process set out was considered to ensure transparency and clarity on how CIL would be allocated and spent by the Council in the future.

 

            The report included five recommendations in relation to CIL spending and governance arrangements, covering the following:

 

·         A methodology and process chart for the preparation of a 3 year Infrastructure Investment Plan, starting in 2021 as set out in Background Papers 1 and 2

·         The process for spending CIL – set out in Background Paper 3.  This provided examples of different situations relating to how infrastructure providers might apply for CIL funding.

·         A recommendation which related to ensuring all necessary contractual documents be executed as necessary to ensure CIL would be passed to service providers

·         The recommendations also asked the Planning Policy Sub Committee to note that a report to the Constitution Working Party would be prepared to recommend necessary changes to the new 2021 Constitution. 

·         These would include a change to the scheme of delegation for the Group Head of planning to authorise transfer of CIL receipts for approved schemes, subject to all contracts for spending in accordance with the IIP being in place. 

·         Also, where CIL bids were not in accordance with the IIP, authority would be delegated to Planning Policy Sub-Committee to grant or refuse spend on applications for projects less than £25,000. 

 

Finally, the Principal Planning Officer drew to the attention of the Sub-Committee two points.

Firstly, that paragraph 2.3 of the report explained that CIL income was estimated to total around £30 million over the lifetime of the plan.  However, to put this into context, the Infrastructure Funding Statement, presented to the Planning Policy Sub-Committee in September stated that S.106 income from the strategic housing allocations was estimated to total approximately £200 million.  CIL was therefore a less significant funding stream, which would be difficult to accurately forecast for a number of years.  Therefore, high expectations should not be placed on CIL to deliver large infrastructure projects at this time.

 

            Secondly, CIL worked alongside S.106 in most cases, but on smaller sites, it mainly replaced S.106 income, which would have previously been passed to the County Council and other infrastructure providers for services such as education, transport and healthcare.  It was for that reason that it was felt necessary to highlight the approach proposed in Section 4 of the report.  

 

Allocating a proportionate amount of CIL to different infrastructure providers did not mean that this amount of the Council’s CIL receipts would automatically be passed to these service providers.  They would have to bid for the money through the Infrastructure Investment Pan process – and would then have to apply for CIL funding, in accordance with Background Paper 3.  This approach aimed to ensure continuity of service provision for all infrastructure providers, whilst giving the Council greater control and certainty over which projects the money was spent on and when, in accordance with the Council’s Infrastructure Investment Plan.

 

            In considering the report, there were concerns expressed over difficulties that the Council had had with certain infrastructure providers in the past in that they had not actually delivered on their part of the agreement by either withholding monies or had had arguments about costs.  The Sub-Committee was of the view that it needed to be sure that these infrastructure providers delivered what had been agreed by allowing the monies to be properly released. 

 

            The Director of Place responded reassuring Councillors that the work undertaken by the Principal Planning Officer around CIL and governance helped to put Arun in a much better position in terms of understanding infrastructure needs  and that it was now in a good place to monitor and ensure the delivery of infrastructure, which had been a weakness in the past.

 

            Generally speaking, the Sub-Committee saw this as an exceptional report as it provided evidence that the Council now had more control in terms of how CIL money was spent and in the appropriate time constraints.  Officers were commended for their work.

 

Following further discussion,

 

 

 

 

            The Sub-Committee

 

                        RESOLVED

 

That it be noted that the Principal Planning Officer will prepare a report to the Constitution Working Party to recommend changes to the new 2021 Constitution (Committee System) as set out in Paragraph 7.5 of the report.

           

The Sub-Committee also

                       

RECOMMEND TO FULL COUNCIL – That

 

1)            the CIL arrangements set out in sections 4 to 7 (inclusive) of the report, and CIL District Pot apportionment set out under paragraph 4.3 be approved;

 

2)            the first Infrastructure Investment Plan (2022-2025), which sets out CIL spending priorities over the three-year period, will be completed, subject to Full Council approval, by December 2021 and will last for a period of 3 years. 

3)            The Planning Policy Committee (PPC) is granted delegated authority to approve bids for funding infrastructure projects that are not listed on the Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) (subject to the correct application process being undertaken in accordance with processes set out in Background Paper 3).

4)            the Group Head of Planning in consultation with the Group Head of Corporate Support, is granted delegated authority to authorise money to be passed to infrastructure providers to spend on CIL projects on the IIP.  Where projects are not listed within the IIP, spending will be subject to Planning Policy Committee approval; and

5)            approval be given to execute all necessary documentation to ensure CIL is passed to service providers and spent in accordance with the council’s Infrastructure Investment Plan.

 

Supporting documents: