Agenda item

Officers will present the attached report which consolidates the comments made by Members of the Task Group at the previous meeting.

Minutes:

The LDF Manager presented a report which consolidated the ideas and issues raised by the Task Group at their previous meeting in relation to how CIL money was distributed and spent.  He presented the three proposals along with pros and cons of each proposal.

 

It was also noted that the projected income from CIL was approximately £1.2 million.  It was highlighted that there was a Government exemption in place for self-build and if this was not in place the income would be up to around £2.5 million.

 

The Task Group considered the three proposals and the following comments were made:

 

Proposal 1 – Split 60/20/20

 

·        Projects would need to be looked at and prioritised.

·        Match funding would be crucial in most cases, but each case would be considered on its own merits.

·        It would be up to the Borough on how the strategic pot would be allocated.  Norfolk County Council projects would not be excluded, but projects would need to link in with the Borough priorities and benefit the local community.

·        An area to consider could be training applicable for skills needed for employment, which could benefit the local economy.

·        The Task Group was reminded that money needed to be used for infrastructure and had to be Capital funding.  CIL money could not be used to subsidise private business or for State Aid.

·        Resources required to administer the projects would need to be considered.  The Task Group was advised that at their next meeting they would be discussing detailed processes for distribution.

·        There would need to be flexibility on the 60/20/20 split if funds were over or under subscribed.  The split would also need to be reviewed annually.  It was noted that funds could roll over to future years if they were not spent.

·        There would need to be a time limit on when organisations received payment after completion of works.  It was explained that CIL monies could be released within seven days if required.

·        There would also need to be a process in place for how long CIL money would be allocated to an organisation, and if it was unused the process for the expiry of projects and reallocation of funds.  Clarification would also be required if the time limit was different to the limit on funds which were directly paid to Parishes, which was currently five years.

 

Proposal 2 - All Parishes

 

·        This would be a simple scheme, but would it serve the needs of the whole Borough as there would be no funds available for strategic projects.

·        It could be trialled. 

 

Proposal 3 – Split 3 ways

 

·        This was a variation of proposal 1, but with a different level of split.

·        It would be resource intensive and could potentially constrain the amount of larger strategic projects.

·        The Task Group was informed that 5% of CIL income could be used for administration of the scheme.

 

The Task Group considered all three proposals.

 

AGREED: 1. The Task Group supported Proposal 1.

2. Proposal 1 to ensure that there was flexibility within the scheme to shift money if there was underspend or oversubscription.

3. A review process is built into the scheme and a process for unspent funds to roll over to the next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: