Issue - meetings

To receive a report inviting the Cabinet to consider recommendations relating to infrastructure projects seeking funding in whole or in part from an amount of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies received to date.

Executive Councillor: T Sanderson.

The Cabinet has

(a)  noted the updates on delivery in relation to the projects previously allocated or in receipt of Community Infrastructure Levy funding commitments (Appendix 1);

(b)  noted the new allocated Community Infrastructure Levy projects for £100,000.00 or less approved by delegation on 12th February 2025 (Appendix 2);

(c)  agreed Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.1 of the report now submitted to approve funding for Bury Guardroom community hub;

(d)  agreed Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.3 of the report now submitted to decline funding for Kimbolton and Stonely for two Community Playgrounds;

(e)  agreed Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.4 of the report now submitted to approve funding for Leisure improvements, Sawtry; and

(f)  agreed Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.6 of the report now submitted to approve funding for Community Fire Station modernisation and extension project, St Neots.

See Minute No. 24/78 – Members’ Interests.

With the aid of a report by the Chief Planning Officer (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Cabinet were invited to consider recommendations relating to infrastructure projects seeking funding in whole or in part from an amount of the Community Infrastructure Levy monies received to date.

Following a brief introduction from the Executive Councillor for Planning who explained that the report had been well received by the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance & Growth) he then went on to provide detailed background on each of the recommendations proposed.

At 7:07pm, Councillor S A Howell vacated the room during discussion on recommendation e).

The Executive Councillor for Open Spaces, Waste and Street Scene raised a question in respect of the Bury Guardroom community hub querying the level of growth in Bury and what these figures were. The Executive Councillor for Planning responded that the Parish Council had gone into depth and provided growth projections into future years as part of their application. Furthermore, their application was one of high quality which included a detailed business plan, projected costings and match funding.

At 7:14pm, Councillor S L Taylor vacated the room during discussion on recommendation f).

At 7:15pm, Councillor S A Howell re-entered the room and took back her seat at the meeting.

The Executive Councillor for Planning then went to provide further detail on recommendation f). There were no further questions raised by Cabinet Members.

At 7:17pm, Councillor S L Taylor re-entered the room and took back her seat at the meeting.

Having commended Officers for the level of detail provided within the report, it was

RESOLVED

that the Cabinet 

(a)  note the updates on delivery in relation to the projects previously allocated or in receipt of Community Infrastructure Levy funding commitments (Appendix 1);

(b)  note the new allocated Community Infrastructure Levy projects for £100,000.00 or less approved by delegation on 12th February 2025 (Appendix 2);

(c)  agree Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.1 of the report now submitted to approve funding for Bury Guardroom community hub;

(d)  agree Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.3 of the report now submitted to decline funding for Kimbolton and Stonely for two Community Playgrounds;

(e)  agree Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.4 of the report now submitted to approve funding for Leisure improvements, Sawtry; and

(f)  agree Officer recommendations at paragraph 4.6 of the report now submitted to approve funding for Community Fire Station modernisation and extension project, St Neots.

Councillor S A Howell did not vote on recommendation e). Councillor S L Taylor abstained from voting on recommendation e).

Councillor S L Taylor did not vote on recommendation f).

The Panel is invited to comment on the Community Infrastructure Levy Spend Allocation Report.

Executive Councillor: T Sanderson

By means of a report by the Chief Planning Officer (a copy of which was appended in the Minute Book) the Community Infrastructure Levy Spend Allocation report was presented to the Panel.

Following a question relating to the funding of the project in St Neots to improve walkways within Regatta Meadows and cycleways in the Riverside Park, the Panel heard that the project had been deemed complete in regards of the CIL funding as this part of the project had been fulfilled. It was noted that there may be other park improvements ongoing outside of the CIL funded project using other funding streams and that the team would feedback an update on this following the meeting.

Councillor Martin was pleased to see that the Bury Guardroom project had been recommended for approval during the round and noted that the resulting economic development for the area would be good news. He also noted the good quality report and the application for the Sawtry swimming pool which provided a great opportunity to buck the national trend on closures of pools.

It was observed that none of the applications under £100,000 had been recommended for approval. The Panel heard that the team works closely with parishes to assist in their application process and does this through a variety of channels to maximise engagement It was referenced the team work closely with the parishes and there is Town and Parish Forum coming up which will provide further opportunity for discussions. It was noted that the team were building on past successes and would be introducing an enquiry form for parishes to get initial feedback prior to application submission, this would be made live prior to the next funding round to provide further support and a second surgery would be held.

Appreciation was expressed for the development of the reports over the past years, including the lessons learned from the past round, and the Panel were advised, following a question, that unsuccessful applicants did receive feedback on their applications directly from the team. The Panel heard that the report included part of the indicative scoring mechanism and that this could be developed for future reports. It was also noted that the report was presenting the technical and professional opinions in relation to the applications and that the Panel were not expected to debate the decisions themselves. It was agreed that the team would pick up queries around the scoring mechanism outside of the meeting.

In response to an enquiry asking both the Executive and Officers to reflect on the new interim governance process, the Panel heard from the Executive Councillor, that in general the quality of applications submitted were excellent and that the process would be fine tuned prior to the next funding round which was anticipated later in the year. The Panel also heard that officers would look to develop the work engaging with parishes in supporting smaller applications and would look to continue the collaborative work already underway. It was noted that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71