Agenda item

A briefing report in respect of the Community Infrastructure Levy is attached.

The Panel considered a report presented by Vincent Paliczka, Director of Environment, Culture and Communities, which gave a summary of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) which would replace, in part, the use of s.106 agreements for infrastructure delivery as part of new development proposals. The report also set out how the Council was preparing for its introduction.

It was explained that CIL was a standardised tariff system for collecting contributions towards infrastructure provision from developers of residential and commercial development. It was up to the Council whether or not to introduce a CIL however, if it did not, then by April 2014, the Council would not be able to continue the system of s.106 planning obligations for pooled contributions.

CIL payments would be calculated by applying a tariff rate to the floor area resulting from a development. The rate would be based on a schedule that could set different levels of charge for different land uses and for different geographic areas. 

The Panel noted that a Government consultation was currently being undertaken on guidance for local authorities on how to develop CILs. A copy of the consultation had been circulated to the Chairman of the Panel.

A project board had been established to steer the development of the CIL system in Bracknell Forest with the intention to establish a CIL regime by summer of 2013. At present, officers were undertaking technical work relating to the scheme. Once the draft regime had been completed the CIL would be available for consultation. It was agreed that once the draft regime had been to the Executive it would be brought to the Panel for comment.

Arising from Members’ questions and comments the following points were noted:

• The CIL tariff was more flexible than the previous s.106 regime. Once the funds had been collected there was no specific plan stating what the funding was to be spent on or where.
• It would not be appropriate to set the CIL tariff based on market forces as a robust local evidence base would be required to justify the tariff.
• As CIL was a new system it would be important to ensure a robust process was in place for the governance of the regime.
• A meaningful proportion of the CIL from a development would be given directly to Parish and Town Councils.
• In relation to the CIL in Bracknell Forest the terms neighbourhood and local communities referred to the Parish and Town Council areas.
• The CIL was in place to mitigate the infrastructure impacts of a new development. Whilst the funding was allocated to projects in the local area where appropriate, for some projects the funding would be spent on improvement works that were not in the immediate area, but that best mitigated the developments impact. 

The Panel expressed its wish to be regularly updated of progress made in relation to the development of the CIL and to be involved in consultation when appropriate.

The Panel noted the proposed CIL and how the Council was preparing for its introduction.