Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

a)  To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 5 February, 2019.

b)  Matters arising

The minutes of the meeting held on 5 February, 2019 were signed as a true record.

With regard to Minute 30, the Cabinet Member requested an update on all of the actions listed.  

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet Member considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) which provided an update on the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to date.

The ability for Local Authorities to charge a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) came into force nationally in April 2010. It enables the Council to raise funds from developers undertaking new building projects in the city. The money can be used to fund a wide range of infrastructure that is needed as a result of development across the city. For example, new or safer road schemes, flood defences, schools, hospitals and other health and social care facilities, park improvements, green spaces and leisure centres.

The Levy creates a financial charging system with the majority of building projects potentially qualifying to contribute towards additional infrastructure that is needed to support wider planned development across the city. The Levy also has far greater certainty in that it provides the basis for a charge in a manner that the planning obligations system alone could not easily achieve, enabling, for example,, the mitigation of cumulative impacts from the development and allowing more flexible use of CIL receipts in terms of where and how they are spent.

The Council is currently developing a CIL following on from the adoption of, and to support its Local Plan. Linked to and alongside the ongoing preparatory work on CIL, the Council is also in the process of developing a separate, but linked planning tool, namely a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) relating to s.106 developer contributions. The Council has also gathered information from other areas where Local Authorities have already established a CIL charging policy, including benchmarking revenues from purpose built student accommodation developments.

Following consideration of the report and matters raised at the meeting, the Cabinet Member requested further information on the number of security cameras installed within the city centre in light of the amount of student accommodation being developed in the city centre.

RESOLVED that, the Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities:

1.  Notes the current position in advancing a CIL charge for Coventry as an update and progress report as of March 2019; and

2.  Endorses the continued delivery of CIL at the earliest opportunity.

Report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Services

The Cabinet Member noted a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) that identified those issues on which further reports had been requested and were outstanding so that progress could be monitored.

There were no other items of public business.