Issue - meetings

J Doe ran through the main points in the report regarding an update on managing CIL and s106 receipts.

• On page 7, section 2 – there is an ongoing government review of CIL as nationally, it is raising less than anticipated and it is a complex system to run. Page 8, paragraph 2.4 onwards – a review group has suggested a hybrid system to set a local tariff for smaller sites like the system in London where developers pay two tariffs – one the local authority and another to the Mayor of London.
• The Council started collecting CIL in July 2015 but there has been no expenditure yet as revenue is still coming in. An advisory group meets every three months and includes the borough council, the county council and other stakeholders and it is there job to prepare an annual business plan.
• The Infrastructure Delivery Plan sets a long list of necessary infrastructure provision. It is updated regularly with changing priorities. A report went to Cabinet in June to delay inviting bids from service providers as currently, there is £450,000 available but it was felt it was not a meaningful amount to distribute.
• The Council has permitted a lot of new developments but CIL is only paid when the development begins. Page 11 shows there is almost £7 million in assets - £3 million coming from The Beacon development.
• There are costs associated with collecting CIL – 5% of the money collected is allowed to be spent on administration costs.
• In the New Local Plan, there will be a review of the CIL charging schedule as it is inflationary. Also, changes to the property market should be monitored and an increase in house prices should be reflected in the CIL charges.

Councillor Birnie asked about the structure of the Infrastructure Advisory Group (IAG) and the distribution of funds. He said he found it odd that it includes LEPs and outside bodies yet only two members of the council are involved – it does not seem very democratic.

J Doe said it was a working group and the democratic element comes from Cabinet sign off. Member representation on the group is for political input and more technical input is required.

Councillor Birnie asked if the IAG only makes recommendations to Cabinet and the expenditure decisions are made by Council.

R Freeman said yes that was correct.

Councillor Hicks asked how the IAG got the ideas for spending.

J Doe said the process starts through expression of interests which will be opened later this year. Officers will assess their relevance and effectiveness.

R Freeman explained that submissions had to be scrutinised to find out if it is deliverable. A scoring mechanism is being developed and those with the highest score will be promoted as options to recommend for approval.

Councillor Birnie asked if the IAG covered neighbourhood submissions.

R Freeman said no. Core allocation of CIL funds go to the IAG. Town and Parish Councils have set up their own processes.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 90