Making CIL Work – Wokingham Borough Council Experience

Brendan Troy Service Manager - Community Infrastructure DeliveryE: brendan.troy@wokingham.gov.uk T: 0118 974 6824

CIL Implementation in WBC• Regional Context• WBC CIL Rates • Route to WBC Rates• CIL Administration in WBC • CIL Governance in WBC• CIL and Strategic Delivery Location (SDL)

Infrastructure Delivery• Governance of the CIL ‘Topslice’ in WBC

Regional Context

Adopted WBC CIL Rates• Adopted 6th April 2015• Highest residential rate outside London • Headline - residential - £365 SqM – outside SDLs• Development Strategy - 4 SDL’s

– Arborfield 3500 houses - £365/sq.m– North Wokingham 1500 houses - £340/sq.m– South Wokingham 2500 houses - £320/sq.m– Shinfield (SM4) 2500 houses - £300/sq.m

• Sheltered housing, residential institutions and retail outside town/district centres

Route to SDL Rates• Core Strategy 2010 - Change of direction –

comprehensive not incremental development - Masterplan SPD for the 4 SDLs

• Over-arching Infrastructure SPD and individual IDP for each SDL

• Concerns about the pooling restriction - Strategic large scale infrastructure would stop unless we had CIL

• Consulted development industry• Council left with little choice but to pursue a CIL-

focused strategy

Track record of Delivery• Formed dedicated Delivery Team and

governance structures to progress the SDLs• Strong track record of delivery over last 3-5 years

– Planning – feasibility studies for 3 relief roads– Acquired Farm for sports hub– LSIF for Eastern Relief Road (delivered 2016/17),

£24m Local Growth Fund– Built 3 new schools 2012/13, secondary school

2016/17

Role of CIL - WBC• Strategic Transport infrastructure

– South Wokingham Distributor Road (including Road over Rail Bridge)

– Replacement railway bridges • Primary and Secondary Education• Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG)• Indoor & Outdoor Sport Facilities• Community Centres / Halls / Libraries • Health Centre / GP Surgeries / Emergency Services

Role of S106 - WBC• Section 106 agreements cover the following: Affordable

Housing; Strategic Access and Management Monitoring (SAMM); Enabling works; site access junctions; Travel Plans; Fire hydrants

• In addition, within the SDLs:- Land for the provision of Transport Infrastructure,

Education Infrastructure, Green Infrastructure, and Community/Social Infrastructure

- On-site and off-site delivery of Suitable Alternative Greenspaces (SANG)

- Amenity open space and play areas

CIL to Date• Income - £90k• Demand Notices - £150k• Liability Notices - £540k• Consented a further 1,620 dwellings

subject to S106 Agreement – potential £37m (circa)

• Reliefs - £1.9m

CIL and S106 Team Structure

CIL Administration in WBC• Business support – Identify CIL liable applications,

upload forms, send follow up letters, measure plans using .pdf software

• Planning officers – minimal role - attach informatives, advise on approximate liability

• CIL team – Issue liability / demand notices (invoices) / process reliefs / notify land charges / CIL Appeals / allocate funds

• Finance – invoices / debt recovery• Infrastructure Finance Board

CIL Administration in WBC • Lack of understanding – small developers and

agents in particular• So many forms!• Assumption of Liability is not a validation

requirement• Extensions over 100sq.m – there are a lot of

them in WBC - heavy on admin / no CIL• Extensions relief – principal residence

CIL Administration issues• New finance processes to set up• SANG and self-build relief – exempt

European Directives from pooling?• Not possible to grant relief for development

granted retrospectively on appeal• Heavy penalty for failure to notify

commencement – reinforce this message!

CIL Administration in WBC• Beware of basements

WBC CIL Governance and Infrastructure Delivery• Infrastructure Delivery Programme Board (IDPB)• Reports to Sustainable Communities Working Group

and Executive• Meets monthly and brings all service heads together• Remit is to manage infrastructure delivery– projects

are monitored monthly - from inception to completion• IDPB informs Capital Planning - CIL funds allocated

through Capital Programme

CIL and SDL infrastructure Delivery• Arborfield SDL - 3500 units - 2,000 units S106 / 1500

CIL (subject to S106)• South Wokingham SDL – 650 under construction,

1850 will come forward under CIL• Circa £66m CIL between the two sites• CIL will fund strategic transport improvements

(including South Wokingham Relief Road); contribute to a secondary school; primary schools on-site; community and sports facilities

• S106 will provide land for on-site delivery

CIL and SDL infrastructure Delivery• High rates are not preventing housing coming forward• Less protracted negotiation• Necessity to have IDPs on SDLs at an early stage

and in consultation with developers• Strategic enabling infrastructure is often required on

SDL’s– Local authority is key delivery partner but no ability to

borrow against CIL– Large Sites Infrastructure Fund (LSIF) only available to

developers not LA’s

CIL and SDL Infrastructure Delivery• Strategic enabling infrastructure is often required

on SDL’s– Widely held view that the Payment in Kind for

Infrastructure mechanism is not workable• We believe a wider interpretation can be provided

– On Reg 123 List – not necessary in planning terms as it will be provided by other means

– Separate planning applications on strategic sites• Any further clarification would be helpful

WBC Meaningful Proportion• 17 Parishes – 3 Parishes will benefit from 99%

of WBC ‘CIL Topslice’ • Small organisations which lack staff / knowledge

/ skills to prioritise / commission / finance to deal with large amounts of infrastructure funding

• Significant drain on SDL infrastructure packages on sites that affect more than one Parish

• WBC working very closely with Parishes

Shared priorities / responsibilities

Terms of Reference • WBC and T&PC’s working on a ‘Terms of Reference

for the management of the CIL’• Year long process of engagement – workshops, clerks

forums, 1 to 1’s• Three strands – not finalised:

– Co-fund infrastructure projects with WBC – WBC would lead on commissioning, procurement and delivery

– Deliver on their own – WBC offer design and build package / traded services

– Joint Commissioning

Questions?