Issue - decisions

The Cabinet had before it a *report of the Head of Planning, Economy and Regeneration requesting approval of the list of Infrastructure items, including affordable housing to be included in the Council’s Infrastructure Funding Statement, which was required to be published on the Council’s website by 31 December 2020.

The Cabinet Member for Planning and Economic Regeneration outlined the contents of the report stating that there was a legal requirement for the Council to publish no later than 31December each year an annual Infrastructure Funding Statement.

This included:

• a report relating to the previous financial year Community Infrastructure Levy (note the Council is not currently a CIL charging authority and so no CIL has been collected),
• a report relating to the previous financial year on planning obligations (Section 106 agreements and Section 278 highways agreements), and
• a report on infrastructure projects or types of infrastructure that the Council intends to find wholly or partly by the levy (excluding the neighbourhood proportion).

There was a need to seek approval for a list of infrastructure and affordable housing in Appendix 1 (Part B) that the Council intends to fund either wholly or partly by planning obligations and or a Community Infrastructure Levy and the future spending priorities on those.

The list in Appendix 1 (Part B – Infrastructure List) and the future spending priorities had been informed through previous work for the Council’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2016. This was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in March 2017 as a supporting document for the examination of the Mid Devon CIL draft charging schedule, and had been prepared in the context of infrastructure needs to support development identified in the recently adopted Mid Devon Local Plan.

The Mid Devon Infrastructure Funding Statement would use the same infrastructure priority criteria to reflect the importance of infrastructure in relation to the implementation of the adopted Mid Devon Local Plan.

The Cabinet Member requested that consideration be given to four amendments to the list of infrastructure in Appendix 1 (Part B- Infrastructure List) that have been suggested by Cabinet Members prior to the meeting:

• (Settlement / area) Rural, (Infrastructure item) Cycle route from Crediton to Sandford to connect to the Boniface Trail, (Type) Transport, (Strategic Priority) Local

The priority is ‘local’ since the plan and / or site allocations are not dependent on the delivery of this infrastructure item, and it would be beneficial to the local community as will the Boniface Trail

• (Settlement / area) Cullompton, (Infrastructure item) Sporting and leisure facilities, (Type) Community, (Strategic Priority) Local

The priority is ‘local’ since the plan and / or site allocations are not dependent on the delivery of this infrastructure item, and it would be beneficial to the local community

• (Settlement / area) Cullompton, (Infrastructure item) Improvement of local library services, (Type) Libraries, (Strategic Priority) Local

The priority is ‘local’ since the plan and / or site allocations are not dependent on the delivery of this infrastructure item, and it would be beneficial to the local community

• (Settlement / area) Cullompton, (Infrastructure item) strategic green infrastructure including public parkland, (Type) Community, (Strategic Priority) Local

The priority is ‘local’ since the plan and / or site allocations are not dependent on the delivery of this infrastructure item, and it would be beneficial to the local community

Consideration was given to:

·         The primary school proposed for the Pedlars Pool site which was actually in the parish of Sandford

·         The expansion of Haywards and Landscore Primary schools

·         Strategic planning requirements for Crediton and the timetable for work to commence on a masterplanning exercise

·         Whether funding could be used to improve existing green infrastructure in Cullompton

·         That the infrastructure projects were proposed by area and not parish

RESOLVED  that the following be approved:

a)           The list of infrastructure and affordable housing in Appendix 1 that the Council intends to fund, either wholly or partly, by planning obligations and / or a Community Infrastructure Levy, and the future spending priorities on these;

b)           The inclusion of Appendix 1 – Infrastructure List in the Mid Devon Infrastructure Funding Statement to be published on the Council’s website by 31December 2020 subject to the inclusion of

(Proposed by Cllr R J Chesterton and seconded by Cllr Mrs N Woollatt)

Reason for decision – The Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 which exercises the powers of Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008 requires in each calendar year a contribution receiving authority to publish an annual infrastructure funding statement.  The first annual infrastructure funding statement must be published by 31 December 2020.

Note:  *Report previously circulated, copy attached to minutes.