Issue - meetings

CIL Governance Report

Meeting: 08/01/2019 - Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation Committee (Item 149)

149 CIL Governance Report pdf icon PDF 106 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mrs Tay Arnold, Planning Projects and Delivery Manager, outlined that previous reports to the Committee had considered the administrative process for non-strategic CIL.  This report concerned the strategic element of CIL.  The report proposed that an annual bidding process takes place, with an Officer Steering Group established to evaluate bids and make recommendations to the Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transportation (SPST) Committee.  The SPST Committee would then be responsible for decisions regarding the allocation of the strategic portion of CIL monies.  In order to achieve this, the delegations to the SPST Committee would need to be referred to Full Council for amendment.

 

Councillor English spoke on this item as a Visiting Member.

 

The Committee commented that:

 

·  The formation of an Officer only Steering Group represented a risk, as it meant that the Committee could be presented with recommendations that were not flexible.

 

·  Officers were, however, best placed to form recommendations that adhered to relevant legislative requirements.  Furthermore, the skillset of the proposed group was appropriate for the function.  The Committee would therefore be responsible for ensuring that the recommendations adhered to policies.

 

·  As this was a new process, a review of the governance arrangements, at an appropriate time, would be beneficial.

 

·  Specific consideration needed to be given to the consultation process with the local community and local Members for areas where there was no Parish Councils.

 

In response to questions from the Committee, Mrs Arnold stated that;

 

·  An assessment of other Councils operating a committee system showed that the fundamental arrangements for strategic CIL governance, as proposed in the report, were used universally.

 

·  The proposed arrangements would not change the current delegated authority to Officers, as the SPST Committee would be the final decision maker for allocating strategic CIL funding.

 

·  A review of the governance arrangements could be scheduled to complement the dates of the annual bidding process.

 

·  Engagement with Parish Councils was to take place in February 2019. A separate session was due to take place with the North Loose Residents Association (NLRA) due to it being the only Forum with a made neighbourhood plan.

 

RESOLVED: That:

 

1.  The SPST Committee agrees the governance proposals for managing the strategic portion of CIL as follows:

 

A. That a CIL steering group be established comprising the Director of Regeneration and Place (as Chair) and other appropriate Council officers;

 

B. That the SPST Committee should be the final decision making body for the strategic portion of CIL.

 

2.  The SPST Committee agrees that the processes, as set out in the report, for the allocation of the strategic portion of CIL be agreed.

 

3.  The governance arrangements be reviewed at an appropriate time.

 

4.  These recommendations are referred to Full Council for approval, so that the appropriate delegations can be made to the SPST Committee.

 

Voting: For – 8  Against – 1  Abstentions – 0