Agenda item

Public participation

Jan Rook asked: Re para 16 of this report, can officers confirm that as a general policy, all Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is used for infrastructure directly associated with the development on which it is levied. 

If the answer is that only a proportion is used this way, can officers please confirm regarding LA5 (Cala Homes western Tring) what proportion of the projected CIL is (a) expected to be used for infrastructure directly associated with that development and (b) expected to be used for infrastructure elsewhere in Tring.

J Doe responded and said the CIL on the LA5 development amounts to approximately £3.8million and will be paid in four instalments of £948k spread out over 18 months. In addition to the CIL levied, a number of features have been secured through s.106 agreements including the provision of open space by A41 bypass, an extension to Tring cemetery including a 30 space car park, toilet block, associated landscaping and improvements to bus stops. He explained that CIL is not ring fenced and the council has discretion where to spend it and they will be making decisions on the expenditure of CIL after consulting a number of service providers. CIL receipts amassed across the borough total £8.9 million since 2015 and £7.1 million of this is available to spend as a certain proportion is allocated to town and parish councils and ward councillors in unparished areas. The council will get a clearer picture of the infrastructure requirement across the borough through the infrastructure delivery plan as part of the Local Plan.

Jan Rook asked if the public would be kept informed of a decision date.

J Doe said the decision will be taken by Cabinet, a date cannot be advised currently but advised the public to keep an eye on the website for updates.

J Doe then introduced his performance report. He highlighted that planning fees income is still projecting an under recovery of £200k by the end of the year. This is being kept under review and the gap is beginning to narrow but are cautious with the current national situation. The under recovery rate was 21% in Q1 and that has reduced to 8% in Q2. There are improvements in land charges income but is still under recovery against the targets and this has been influenced by the stamp duty holiday and will need to see what happens after 31 March when it is due to end. The Development Management performance has generally been good this quarter and the amber indicator in the report relates to minor planning application which are small developments of up to 10 homes. It is important to note that case load does remain high and 223 new homes were completed in Q2.

Councillor Timmis asked what the acronyms on page 18 refer to.

J Doe said these refer to codes for the different performance indicators in the appendix.

Councillor Beauchamp asked if there was a deadline to spend any CIL receipts.

J Doe said there was no deadline. The department are conscious that there is a lot of money sitting there available to spend and guidance has been provided to ward members. There are two categories of money, the core fund which makes up 80% and the proportion allocation to ward members or town and parish councils.

Councillor Birnie asked if previous staffing issues had been resolved and if the new planning systems have been implemented successfully.

J Doe said the team have a full complement and new staff have recently been welcomed to the team. There are some issues with maternity cover that we are currently trying to resolve. There are challenges with major developments and if they are adequately resourced but this has been discussed in budget setting meetings. The new system is working well and the team work closely with ICT on any issues that may arise.