To receive any questions from members of the public which have been submitted in advance of the meeting in accordance with the cabinet procedure rules. The deadline for the receipt of public questions is midnight Wednesday 17 January 2018.
Minutes:
Public Question from Amir Eden
Marion Marples asked the public question on behalf of Amir Eden.
Would Southwark Council please explain in detail, the process for the distribution of community CIL money (including how projects are added to the community project lists, how they are prioritised, how money is allocated to a prioritised project and what the decision making process looks like)?
Response by the Cabinet Member for Regeneration and New Homes
The cabinet approved on 17 March 2015 the adoption in April 2015 of the Section 106 Planning Obligations and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Supplementary Planning Document (SPD).
Under the Localism Act the council were obliged to identify a “meaningful proportion” of Southwark CIL that will be spent in the local area to ensure that people affected by development benefit from that development.
The former section 106 system required planning officers to negotiate with developers to secure funding in an inefficient way. Negotiations could involve over 40 different purposes, for instance community development facilities, education, environmental improvements, primary care trust payments, CPZ’s, car clubs and so on. With the adoption of CIL it allows the council to plan in a meaningful way to develop the infrastructure required to support the growth of the borough for example through securing funding for our school expansion programme, improved health facilities, new libraries, improvements to district parks such as Burgess Park, new leisure facilities and strategic transport provision.
Under the Localism Act the minimum threshold for local CIL was 15%, or 25% for those with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan or Area Action Plan. However we decided to set local CIL at 25% for the whole borough. The SPD explains that the Community Infrastructure Project Lists (CIPLs) will be developed as a mechanism by which local communities will inform priorities for spending the local CIL. The project ideas suggested by the local community are approved by the relevant community council on an annual basis. Inclusion will require that projects are publically accessible, physical infrastructure in the locality and that support growth.
Depending on the location of the development, the council will use the following sequence of areas to identify relevant projects:
§ Areas with an adopted neighbourhood plan
§ Opportunity areas
§ Action areas
§ SPD areas (other than individual sites/buildings)
§ Community council areas (for those areas not covered by the above).
The SPD explains that if an area has a neighbourhood plan, the local CIL funds from a development will be invested within the boundary of the plan area.
The community councils will ensure the relevance of the projects on the CIPL and approve any proposed new projects to be included on the list. The community councils will also suggest a priority of projects that will be submitted to cabinet. This will then inform the decisions taken by cabinet about which projects local CIL will be invested in, this will allow investment to be considered alongside the council’s capital programme.
Supplemental question
Marion Marples asked whether the council could examine the current decision making process in respect of the process for the distribution of community CIL money at community council meetings. It was felt that the current arrangements were not satisfactory for the following reasons:
· A low level of understanding of the process
· Detail and rationale for projects not included as part of the decision making
· Improvement required on managing and updating the project lists.
Councillor Mark Williams responded by indicating he would aim to look at the issues raised in advance of the March round of community council meetings.