Cabinet Member for Planning
Decision:
It was RESOLVED:-
1.1 That the content of the report and Appendices A and B were noted by Cabinet and that the content of Appendices A and B of the report be submitted to the Government as Babergh’s Infrastructure Funding Statement.
1.2 That publication of the Infrastructure Funding Statement (Appendices A and B of the report) on the Council’s web site on the 11th December 2020 was agreed by Cabinet.
Reason for Decision: There are a number of different ways which Infrastructure is delivered following growth within each District. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies have been collected since the implementation of CIL on the 11th April 2016. The CIL Expenditure Framework was originally adopted in April 2018. It was reviewed with amendments; these were adopted on the 18th March 2019 and the 20th April 2020. This Framework requires the production of a CIL Expenditure Programme for each District at least twice a year containing decisions for Cabinet to make or note on CIL Bids for infrastructure. Section 106 monies are collected through the completion of legal agreements before planning permission is granted for development. These secure developer contributions or direct provision of infrastructure. These legal agreements control the amount of money to be received and the timing and nature of the infrastructure provision. Neighbourhood CIL is paid out twice a year on the 28th April and the 28th October to all Parishes with the exception of Parish meetings where these monies are held by the Councils for us to work with those Parishes to devise and implement infrastructure proposals .All Parishes need to make a yearly return to each Council on the expenditure of their Neighbourhood CIL and this should be published on their Parish web site. As part of the evidence supporting the development of a Joint Local Plan an Infrastructure Delivery Plan has been produced which is being updated. All of these measures and where appropriate, decisions form ways in which necessary infrastructure supporting growth in the Districts are delivered /or prioritised for the benefit of our communities.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
1.1 The need to produce an Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) is prescribed by legislation through changes to the CIL Legislation in September 2019. The Government have been working on a template for a digital response with an ability to input back office data and for each Council to submit this using existing software (for Babergh and Mid Suffolk -this would be via Exacom). It is understood that there are over 100 Local Authority users of Exacom in the country and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government have been working alongside users to develop a digital template to complete the IFS each year. This is still being developed/tested and some Local Authorities produced their own IFS for last year (when there was no legal requirement to do so) using their own individual style/approach. Over time the content of these Infrastructure Funding Statements are likely to develop into a focused digital submission to the Government.
1.2 Our approach at this time is to submit Appendices A and B of the report to the Government for our IFS for the year April 2019-March 2020 and if possible, for this information to be submitted digitally (using any provided template and Exacom) to meet the deadline of the end of December 2020.
Any Declaration of Interests Declared: None
Any Dispensation Granted: None
Minutes:
20.1 The Cabinet Member for Planning introduced report BCa/20/07 Infrastructure Funding Statement and provided Members with details of the Infrastructure Funding Statement. Councillor Arthey expressed his thanks to the Professional Lead for Key Sites and Infrastructure and the team for the work in producing the statement.
20.2 Councillor Arthey moved the recommendations in the report. The recommendations were seconded by Councillor Holt.
20.3 Councillor Parker commented on the amount of money allocated to Parishes compared to the amount spent, and queried whether Ward Members could do more to encourage Parishes to utilise the funding.
20.4 Members commended the work undertaken by the CIL team.
20.5 Members discussed concerns regarding the large expenditure required, and the access to information for Town and Parish Councils.
20.6 The Professional Lead for Key Sites and Infrastructure provided Members with the details of the communications strategy which included briefings for Members and Town and Parish Councils.
By a unanimous vote
It was RESOLVED:-
1.1 That the content of the report and Appendices A and B were noted by Cabinet and that the content of Appendices A and B of the report be submitted to the Government as Babergh’s Infrastructure Funding Statement.
1.2 That publication of the Infrastructure Funding Statement (Appendices A and B of the report) on the Council’s web site on the 11th December 2020 was agreed by Cabinet.
Reason for Decision: There are a number of different ways which Infrastructure is delivered following growth within each District. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies have been collected since the implementation of CIL on the 11th April 2016. The CIL Expenditure Framework was originally adopted in April 2018. It was reviewed with amendments; these were adopted on the 18th March 2019 and the 20th April 2020. This Framework requires the production of a CIL Expenditure Programme for each District at least twice a year containing decisions for Cabinet to make or note on CIL Bids for infrastructure. Section 106 monies are collected through the completion of legal agreements before planning permission is granted for development. These secure developer contributions or direct provision of infrastructure. These legal agreements control the amount of money to be received and the timing and nature of the infrastructure provision. Neighbourhood CIL is paid out twice a year on the 28th April and the 28th October to all Parishes with the exception of Parish meetings where these monies are held by the Councils for us to work with those Parishes to devise and implement infrastructure proposals .All Parishes need to make a yearly return to each Council on the expenditure of their Neighbourhood CIL and this should be published on their Parish web site. As part of the evidence supporting the development of a Joint Local Plan an Infrastructure Delivery Plan has been produced which is being updated. All of these measures and where appropriate, decisions form ways in which necessary infrastructure supporting growth in the Districts are delivered/or prioritised for the benefit of our communities.
Supporting documents: