Issue - meetings

To receive a report seeking endorsement of the Infrastructure Funding Statement 2021/22 including an update on the infrastructure delivery up to March 2022.

Executive Councillor: T Sanderson.

The Cabinet has

a)  approved the statement on the infrastructure projects or types of infrastructure which the Council intends will be, or may be, wholly or partly funded by Community Infrastructure Levy stated in paragraph 2.5 (of the report submitted) in the Infrastructure Funding Statement; and

b)  delegated authority to the Executive Councillor for Strategic Planning in consultation with the Chief Planning Officer, to make any final amendments to the Infrastructure Funding Statement, if necessary, prior to publication.

The Cabinet received and noted a report by the Chief Planning Officer (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) seeking endorsement of the Infrastructure Funding Statement 2021/22 including an update on the infrastructure delivered during this time to March 2022. The statement also set out projects that would be, or may be, wholly or partly, funded by Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

The Executive Councillor for Planning reminded the Cabinet of the background to the report where it was noted that the Council had been a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging authority since May 2012 and as such, was required to publish an annual Infrastructure Funding Statement covering the previous financial year by no later than 31st December. The purpose of CIL was to improve, replace and develop the infrastructure within Huntingdonshire. Having drawn the Cabinet’s attention to the headline figures contained within the Funding Statement for 2021/22, it was noted that over £37m of CIL funding had been retained.

Having had their attention drawn to the views of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Performance & Growth), the Cabinet welcomed the structure and format of the report and briefly discussed the position with S106 receipts across St Neots, Huntingdon and Warboys. Following questions raised by the Executive Councillors for Leisure, Waste and Street Scene and Corporate and Shared Services the Managing Director undertook to request Officers to provide a response to why there were delays on the delivery of projects and spend across CIL projects and S106 schemes which would be circulated to Cabinet Members outside of the meeting. Whereupon, the Cabinet

RESOLVED

a)  to approve the statement on the infrastructure projects or types of infrastructure which the Council intends will be, or may be, wholly or partly funded by Community Infrastructure Levy stated in paragraph 2.5 (of the report submitted) in the Infrastructure Funding Statement; and

b)  to delegate authority to the Executive Councillor for Strategic Planning in consultation with the Chief Planning Officer, to make any final amendments to the Infrastructure Funding Statement, if necessary, prior to publication.

The Panel is invited to comment on the Infrastructure Funding Statement.

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 was presented to the Panel.

Following an enquiry from Councillor Gray on the delays relating to the allocated CIL funds, the Panel were advised that due to the economic climate and international supply issues, capital projects were experiencing delays nationally.

Councillor Pickering queried the funding marked for land north of St Neots and the Panel heard that this was Section 106 money relating to the Loves Farm development, further detail would be sought on this and communicated to the Panel.

Following the discussion by the Panel, it was

RESOLVED

that Cabinet be encouraged to endorse the recommendations within the report.