Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Sandell.

To agree as a correct record the notes from the meeting held on 29 August 2023 (previously circulated) and from the reconvened meeting held on 6 October 2023 (to follow).

The notes from the previous meeting held on 29 August 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

The notes from the reconvened meeting held on 6 October 2023 were to be agreed at the next meeting.

There were no matters arising.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Members should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent under Section 100b(4)(b) of the Local Government Act, 1972.

There was no urgent business.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chair of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before a decision on that item is taken.

Councillor Joyce.

There was no Chair’s correspondence to report.

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The CIL Monitoring Officer presented the Panel with a presentation. A copy of the presentation is attached.

The CIL Monitoring Officer shared with the Panel a screenshot which showed the current details of CIL income up to the 12^th October 2023. The CIL Monitoring Officer explained the total income to date was just over £6 million and explained the table within the screenshot showed the amount distributed to administration and Parishes. The final figure showed the CIL infrastructure funds to date of over £4.5 million. She explained the amount of CIL received for the first part of the financial year had exceeded projections and indicated future income would likely to be £2 million per annum.

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The amount of CIL parish payments made per zone, broken down into North, South and King’s Lynn was provided to the Panel as set out below.

In response to a question, the CIL Monitoring Officer explained that North and South was based on the charging schedule with King’s Lynn central. She explained anything above King’s Lynn would be North and anything below King’s Lynn would be South.

The Chair asked if a graphic illustrating where the boundaries lie between North, South and King’s Lynn could be circulated with the notes of the meeting for approval.

AGREED: The CIL Monitoring Officer would provide a map to demonstrate that which would be included with the notes of the meeting.

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The CIL Monitoring Officer informed the Panel that Parish Councils have a statutory responsibility to submit an annual report giving details of how much they have spent and how much they have retained.

The CIL Monitoring Officer presented the Panel with screenshots of the summary of the infrastructure funding statement for 2022/2023.

Councillor Blunt asked whether in future the dates could be included on the presentation to make it clearer which financial year they were relating to.

The CIL Monitoring Officer explained to the Panel what appendices F-I were as set out below.

It was explained it was a full summary of the infrastructure projects which had been allocated and spent within the financial year 2022/2023.

Councillor de Whalley asked a number of questions in relation to the Green Infrastructure and Recreational Impact Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (GIRAMS).

The Planning Control Manager asked Councillor de Whalley to submit his questions in an email and they would get answers.

Councillor Blunt asked whether they could get a statement relating to the state of GIRAMS.

The Planning Control Manager confirmed they would get information on that.

The Panel were reminded of the current list of infrastructure funding application criteria for 2023.

The CIL Monitoring Officer explained to the Panel that before they went on to look at the Governance, she had received correspondence from the NHS to include healthcare projects within the next Governance document and shared a screenshot with the Panel.

AGREED: The Planning Control Manager would get answers to questions raised by Councillors de Whalley and Blunt in relation to GIRAMS.

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The CIL Monitoring Officer explained to the Panel she had carried out research in relation to how other authorities plan for the future in relation to CIL governance and infrastructure spending. She explained one area which had been highlighted as good practice across other authorities was Huntington District Council.

The CIL Monitoring Officer shared with the Panel screenshots of Huntington District Council’s infrastructure development plan.

The CIL Monitoring Officer also shared with the Panel screenshots of East Devon’s infrastructure development plan to show two different types.

The CIL Monitoring Officer explained to the Panel that these examples may help them to view how they would like to move forward and review the CIL governance and funding for the next round of applications.

AGREED: The Panel would think about how they would like to move forward before their next meeting.

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The CIL Monitoring Officer asked the Panel whether they would like to suspend the next round of funding applications in January as they did not have an agreed governance arrangement for 2024.

The Panel were not keen on suspending the next round of funding applications in January and explained they would like to stick to the timetable if possible.

The Chair raised an issue in relation to having two rounds each year and explained to the Panel they were strongly in favour of having one round per year.

The Planning Control Manager highlighted to the Panel that they did not have an agreed governance document for 2024 and explained to the Panel that they could change the timetable to allow for a larger pot of funding for more projects to come through. She explained if the Panel wished to continue with two rounds per year, there would be a slight delay as it would be unlikely to undertake a fundamental review in the timescales so would be more of a light touch approach.

The Planning Control Manager asked the Chair to consider launching a project plan for future update for next year.

AGREED: The Panel would get confirmation from the Monitoring Officer on what could be included in a light touch review which would happen early November in order to go ahead with the round of funding applications at the beginning of January.

To be arranged when required.

To be advised.