To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the CIL Board held on 8 May 2018 as a correct record.

Members discussed amending Minute 3 (d) to include that the granting of funds be approved subject to disabled access being provided from both sides of Swanley station. It was advised that the recommendations had already been ratified by Cabinet at its meeting on 7 June 2018 (Minutes 8 (a)) and additional conditions could therefore not be imposed. However Officers would investigate this with the parties involved in order to convey the Board’s wishes.

Resolved:  That the Minutes of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Spending Board meeting held on 8 May 2018 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Including any interests not already registered.

Councillor McArthur and Councillor McGregor declared that for Application A – Edenbridge Public Toilets (Edenbridge Town Council) and Application D – Edenbridge Hub Development (Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust) they were Ward Members for the applications and Members of Edenbridge Town Council however remained open minded.

Councillor Edwards-Winser declared that for Application B – Health Pod for Otford Medical Practice (Otford Patient Participation Group) he was a Ward Member for the application however remained open minded.

Councillor Ball and Dyball declared that for Application C – Disabled Play Equipment (Swanley Town Council) they were Members of Swanley Town Council however remained open minded.

Councillor Halford declared that for Application C – Disabled Play Equipment (Swanley Town Council) he was a Ward Member for the application and would not take part in the debate or voting thereon, but would remain in the Chamber.

There were none.

The Planning Officer (Policy) presented a report which advised Members that the first round of bids had been open for 5 weeks from 21 October 2018 to 29 November 2018. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) contributions had been collected on qualifying developments and the council had a mandatory responsibility to pass a portion of CIL contributions to Town and Parish Councils where development had occurred within a 6-month period.

Cabinet had agreed that all Parish and Town Councils in the District would receive 25% of CIL contributions collected and would be calculated against the top CIL charging rate, resulting in discretionary ‘top up’ payments made by the District Council. The Board were advised that following the last Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Spending Board meeting, Cabinet had agreed to amend the recommendations to include a legal agreement to allow funds to be returned if not spent or if not spent correctly. This would not apply to Town and Parish Council applications as they were covered under a separate agreement. The Council could recover up to 5% of CIL receipts for administrative costs.

The process for assessing applications was a two-stage process as set out in the council’s Constitution and all bids had been judged on merit.

Application A – Edenbridge Public Toilets

The application sought £34,000.00 to fund a major refurbishment of the public toilets in the town centre at the Market Yard car park, Edenbridge, in the central part of the High Street. They would be available for use by businesses, residents and visitors. The refurbishment would modernise the existing facilities, improve hygiene standards to increase usage as well as providing a hot water supply to the facility. This application had been submitted prior to the last CIL Spending Board however as planning permission had not been granted at that stage, did not get through to stage two.

The proposal demonstrated strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community and partnership working with other organisations. There was considered to be sufficient certainty that the scheme would be delivered, with a need for the scheme being identified in an adopted plan or strategy. Sufficient evidence had been submitted to demonstrate a strong link between new development and the scheme.

The Board was addressed by the following speakers:

Members asked questions of the speaker. The speaker explained that Edenbridge Town Council had obtained a number of quotes for the refurbishment of the toilets with the £70,000 being the best value for money. The different features, sizes and levels of disrepair of public toilets were said to account for differences in price. The proposal was for a male, female and disabled use toilet. The facilities’ running costs would not be significantly affected by the refurbishment as this was mainly cleaning costs. Efforts to reduce vandalism would be taken when refurbishing the toilets.

Application B – Health Pod for Otford Medical Practice

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

At 8.49 p.m. the Chairman adjourned the meeting for the convenience of Members and Officers. The meeting resumed at 9.01pm.

Members were advised by Officers that meeting procedure required that all the applications should be debated before being voted on. However, it was decided by the Chairman and supported by Members that they would debate and vote on each application as there was sufficient funding available for all of the bids.

Members debated the application.

Resolved:  That it be recommended to Cabinet that the £34,000.00 funding applied for, as set out in the report, for scheme “Edenbridge Public Toilets” be approved on the following grounds

                                   i.          Strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community

                                 ii.          Partnership working with other organisations;

                                iii.          There is sufficient certainty that the scheme will be delivered

                                iv.          Need for the scheme is identified in an adopted plan or strategy

                                  v.           Sufficient evidence has been submitted to demonstrate a strong link between new development and the scheme.

Members debated the application. Members noted that the funding request was relatively small when considering total project costs.

Resolved:  That it be recommended to Cabinet that

a)        subject to a legal agreement being signed within 6 months of the decision date,the £2,500.00 funding applied for, as set out in the report, for scheme “Otford Medical Practice Health Pod” be approved on the following grounds

                                   i.          strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community

                                 ii.          strong local support for the project

                                iii.          the CIL contribution will be matched by funding from other sources

                                iv.          that there is sufficient certainty that the scheme will be delivered

b)        if the legal agreement was not signed in accordance with (a) above then funding applied for would be refused for failure to ensure the effective management of CIL funds.

Members debated the application.

Resolved:  That it be recommended to Cabinet that the £10,000.00, applied for, as set out in the report, for scheme “Swanley Park Disabled Play Equipment” be approved on the following grounds:

                                   i.          strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community

                                 ii.          strong local support for the scheme

                                iii.          the CIL contribution will be matched by funding from other sources

Members debated the application. It was suggested that granting the application funding should be subject to the proposal receiving planning permission.

Resolved:  That it be recommended to Cabinet that

a)    subject to a legal agreement being signed within 6 months of the decision date and planning permission in accordance with the terms of the CIL application being granted within 5 years of the decision date, the £600,000.00 applied for, as set out in the report, for scheme “Edenbridge Integrated Health and Wellbeing Centre” be approved on the following grounds

                                   i.          strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community

                                 ii.          strong local support for the scheme

                                iii.          partnership working with other organisations

                                iv.          The CIL Contribution will be matched funded from other sources

                                  v.          The scheme forms part of a planned strategy to address the need for infrastructure

b)   if the legal agreement was not signed in accordance with (a) above then funding applied for would be refused for failure to ensure the effective management of CIL funds.

Members debated the application. It was noted that if granting funding for this application, 25% of CIL money granted would have been to the Sevenoaks Town Council for the Bat and Ball area. It was recognised that this percentage was likely to change following the granting of future applications and Bat and Ball area required regeneration. Members were reminded that applications should be made on theirmerit. This area was said to have a high density of residents. Members discussed the size of the proposed community centre and the need for large halls in the town and district was acknowledged. The considerable funds raised by the Town Council for this project was noted, and that the only funding sources outlined were from the Town Council and CIL grant.

Resolved: That it be recommended to Cabinet that the £1,200,000.00 funding applied for, as set out in the report, for scheme “Bat & Ball Community Centre” be approved on the following grounds:

                                   i.          strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community;

                                 ii.          strong local support for the project

                                iii.          the scheme forms part of a planned strategy to address the need for infrastructure

                                iv.          There is sufficient certainty that the scheme will be delivered

Members debated the application. Members commended the application and the speakers. It was noted that granting of the CIL funds should be subject to the applicant also securing funding from other sources.

Resolved: That it be recommended to Cabinet that

a)    subject to a legal agreement being signed within 6 months of the decision date and secured funding from other sources the £185,000 applied for, as set out in the report, for scheme “New Village Hall/Sports Pavilion Project” be approved on the following grounds:

                                   i.          strong economic, social and environmental benefits to the community

                                 ii.          the CIL contribution will be match funded from other sources

                                iii.          there is sufficient certainty that the scheme will be delivered

b)   if the legal agreement was not signed in accordance with (a) above or if the remaining funding was not secured from other sources then funding applied for would be refused for failure to ensure the effective management of CIL funds.