Agenda item

Report from the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment.

Recommendation:

1.    That Cabinet approves the allocation of Strategic CIL funds to the Whiston Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme (£3,000,000).

At the Chair’s invitation, the Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment introduced the report which provided an update on the outcome of the 2025 bidding round for Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (Strategic CIL) funding.

The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment explained that Strategic CIL funding was a method to secure contributions from developers towards strategic infrastructure to support developments across the borough. CIL funding was separate to contributions from developers under section 106 agreements, which were used to counteract the impact of developments in a specific local area. The report summarised the application process which had taken place and recommended to Cabinet the allocation of £3 million to the Whiston Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme, which was the only project that fulfilled all of the criteria in this bidding round.

The Chair invited members of OSMB to raise questions and queries.

Councillor Allen complimented officers on the report, commenting that it was clear, concise and logical. Councillor Allen then asked whether the A57 Todwick roundabout project, which sat within her ward, would be carried forward to a future bidding round and enquired if there were any other avenues of funding that could be made available to that project?

Simon Moss, the Service Director of Regeneration and Environment responded that the Todwick roundabout had been considered for Strategic CIL funding in this round. However, the project had been costed at over £8 million, which took it over the £3 million threshold for Strategic CIL funding. This project would require other funding to bridge that funding gap, which would usually come from SYMCA or the Department for Transport (DfT). The Service Director explained that the current phase of SYMCA block funding for transport was coming to an end and that policy work would soon commence with SYMCA to inform a new local transport plan. This would hopefully provide a new five-year funding scheme that could be utilised for local projects. The Service Director confirmed that it could be challenging to make a strong business case for congestion schemes as they hadn’t been a priority for the government. However, the council had previously submitted an expression of interest in respect of the Todwick roundabout to the DfT and would continue to seek any funding opportunities as they arose. In the meantime, the Todwick roundabout project would not be ruled out for other rounds of Strategic CIL funding.

Councillor Steele asked whether any additional funding could be put into the projects that were not successful in this bidding round and enquired what consultation would be undertaken with ward members regarding Strategic CIL funding?

The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment confirmed that for those projects that did not meet the threshold on this occasion, the council would look at alternative funding streams and it was anticipated that some projects would come back for future Strategic CIL bidding rounds. It would be expected that service providers would consult with ward members on projects within their areas – not all proposals had come from the council, some had been from the NHS and other external service providers. The Executive Director of Regeneration and Environment informed members that a review of the Strategic CIL assessment criteria was about to take place with the Chief Executive and section 151 Officer. Any proposed changes to the criteria would be reported via Cabinet, which would allow members the opportunity to provide any input.

Councillor McKiernan asked whether the Whiston Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme would be fully funded from the Strategic CIL money if approved, or would there be any other money going into it? The Executive Director confirmed that funding from the Environment Agency for this project was already confirmed and available so if the grant of the Strategic CIL funding to this scheme was approved by Cabinet, it would be 100% funded.

Resolved: - That the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board supported the recommendation that Cabinet:

1.    Approve the allocation of Strategic CIL funds to the Whiston Brook Flood Alleviation Scheme (£3,000,000).