Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2019 be confirmed.

No declarations of interest were received.

Toby Forbes-Turner, Planning Policy Manager:

a.    presented an update on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) since it was implemented on 5 February 2018 and provided options for discussion for the distribution of ‘local’ CIL monies collected.

b.    advised that since the implementation date a total of £31,826 had been collected from CIL receipts.

c.    advised that the majority of the CIL receipts would be used to contribute to agreed Central Lincolnshire Strategic Infrastructure priorities. For the remaining CIL receipts, for the City under the CIL regulations it was up to the City Council to decide how to distribute the funding to support the delivery of local infrastructure.

d.    gave the background of the report and highlighted the CIL charging schedule rates at paragraph 3.1 of the report.

e.    referred to paragraph 4 of the report and advised that of the £31,826 of CIL receipts collected £4,774 was available for distribution in the City.

f.     detailed the options for distribution of the local CIL monies:

·   Distribution via Neighbourhood Boards

·   Distribution across all Council Wards

·   Distribution to targeted areas in the City e.g. Sincil Bank

·   ‘Bank’ local CIL monies for a period of time e.g. 2-3 years until a more substantial pot was built up.

g.    referred to paragraph 4.7 of the report and advised that CIL would be reviewed in the next 12 -18 months.

h.    invited members questions and comments

Question:    If money was banked could it be called upon at any time?

Response:   As long as it was spent within the local requirements, it could be called upon at any time.

Question:    Could the 5% administration fee be increased?

Response:   No, this was set by statute and was the maximum amount which could be charged

Nicola Collins, Senior Planning Enforcement Officer responded further:  CLC had amalgamated the CIL function with the Section 106 function, it was largely administrative so it was dealt with by the internal resources and therefore the Council was not spending a lot of money on the procedure. It was not a significant financial burden.

Comment:   To bank the money would seem a sensible option.
Question:     Were there restrictions on the use of the money depending on the definition of the word ‘infrastructure’?

Response:   The definition was quite wide and as long as you could demonstrate compliance with the definition, it was within the scope of Local Authorities to come up with pragmatic approaches to the use of CIL.

Question:      Would the CIL receipts be ring fenced?

Response:   Yes, it would be ring-fenced in a different pot.

RESOLVED unanimously that the preferred option to ‘bank’ local CIL monies for a period of time e.g. 2-3 years until a more substantial pot was built up be recommended to Executive.

The Chair reported specifically that the Trust has had more applications for nurse placements in Lincoln recently which was thought to be linked to the new Medical School.

Question:      Did the Committee discuss the industrial action regarding the Health Visitors? As there were concerns about the Health Visitor service in Lincoln.

Response:   No, it was not covered at that meeting however the Chair would consider raising this issue with the Lincolnshire County Council.

RESOLVED that the update be noted.

The Legal & Democratic Services Manager:

a.    presented the report ‘Policy Scrutiny Work Programme 2019-2020 and Executive Work Programme Update’

b.    presented the Executive Work Programme June 2019- May 2020

c.    requested councillors submit items that they wished to scrutinise from the Executive Work Programme and policies of interest.

d.    invited members questions and comments.

Members suggested that a report on parking on grass verges/fields be explored as it was a concern of Councillors and residents. It was agreed that this would be considered by the Legal & Democratic Services Manager with relevant Officers and reported back to the Committee at the next meeting.

RESOLVED that:

1.    the Policy Scrutiny Work Programme be noted.

2.    the Executive Work Programme be noted.