To receive a verbal update on the Community Infrastructure Levy as agreed at a meeting with the Cabinet Member on 18 October 2023.
Minutes:
Councillor Nick Botterill, Cabinet Member for Finance, Development Management, and Strategic Planning, presented a verbal update to the Committee alongside Parvis Khansari, Director – Place, and Nic Thomas, Director – Planning.
It was explained that the Community Infrastructure Levy (CiL) had originally been introduced with the intention to replace Section 106 agreements to provide a more robust and transparent way of yielding development contributions. As a result of the recent Corporate Peer Challenge, it was highlighted that it was crucial that the Council aligned all processes in order to utilise the different investments and resources provided for maximum strategic gain and to have rigorous thought into how the CiL was used.
Officers were undertaking reviews into how investments were allocated; do the procedures meet strategic objectives and are they fit for purpose. The current decision-making process had been identified as impractical due to the irregularity of CiL requests, therefore a more dynamic process was necessary in order to respond to demand. Furthermore, it had been found that there had been instances in which allocations of CiL to schemes had not been fully delivered for a significant amount of time, therefore officers were looking to better monitor CiL and other planning incomes to ensure that timely allocation information was available for Members and officers.
Finally, it was highlighted that officers were reviewing the different rate of funding devolution processes in which part of the CiL income was allocated to Town and Parish Councils depending on the progress of their Neighbourhood Plans. Upon review, it had been noted that it was not clear how or if the funding had been spent, therefore officers were seeking to better understand how best to devolve the funding to Town and Parish Councils equally and fairly, and to improve communications between Wiltshire Council and Town and Parish Councils in respect of CiL allocations to enable more informative and effective discussions and plans.
Finally, officers noted that an internal audit for Section 106 processes was undertaken in 2023 which had led to a number of recommendations that officers were in the process of implementing; one of which being how the Council negotiate and secure funding for contributions from developers. As such, officers were looking to continue reviewing the topic in parallel to the CiL review for a better aligned strategic direction.
During the discussion, points included:
· It was explained that the legislation in relation to allocations of CiL to Town and Parish Councils was laid down by Central Government, therefore the Council was limited in which it could control. However, it was noted that the Government had consulted on significant changes and reform in the area, therefore if there were any specific concerns and/or suggestions, these could be inputted into any consultations.
· Town and Parish Councils had a less restrictive framework in respect of how or when they spent CiL and Members highlighted the importance of maintaining funding at that level and encouraging Town and Parish Councils to spend CiL on what their communities needed and what they felt was most appropriate. However, it was acknowledged that visibility and transparency of funds at that level was an issue and Members noted that encouraging Town and Parish Councils to be more visible could encourage more effective implementation and value for money. Officers echoed this and recognised that the Council needed to support Town and Parish Councils throughout the process.
· It was further explained that Section 106 agreements were specific to developments and CiL was more targeted at the cumulative effect of developments which developers could not influence; as such, CiL was a strategic investment that could be used in a number of different ways. Previous budget reports showed that CiL had been historically allocated to Local Highways and Footpath Improvement Groups, however it was highlighted that this was at the discretion of Cabinet.
· Officers were congratulated on their approach and thanked for the update.
At the conclusion of the discussion, it was then:
Resolved:
The Committee:
1) Noted the update.
2) Requested the Community Infrastructure Levy Review Report by the end of 2024.