Chaper 5 – Topic Policies
Section F – Implementation
IMP1 Funding and Delivery of Infrastructure
This Plan is supported by an Infrastructure Delivery Plan [pdf 481 kB] which is an iterative document that sets out the infrastructure that is required to be delivered to support the planned development up to 2030. It has been informed by discussion with key providers and identifies (where known) how and when this infrastructure might be delivered and to what extent new development is directly reliant on its delivery as a means of prioritising the required infrastructure.
Over the last 20 years or so, the Council has successfully managed to fund new infrastructure of many types and forms through Section 106 Agreements. This infrastructure has helped to ensure that new developments are properly served by the services and facilities that support everyday life and that these facilities are delivered at the right time to meet new demand.
The introduction of the CIL Regulations in April 2015 now limits the scope of Section 106 Agreements and their ability to act as a pool for developer contributions towards strategic infrastructure, although they still have a role in the provision of site specific facilities. As a consequence the Council proposes to introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule alongside this Local Plan. This has been tailored to take account of the general policy requirements contained within this Plan and reflects the viability position at the time of drafting. It is likely that the CIL Charging Schedule will need to be reviewed on a regular basis to reflect changing market conditions.
Nevertheless, the Council still considers that Section 106 Agreements can provide a more certain means of delivering specific infrastructure and services than the use of CIL receipts. This has benefits for developers, residents and service providers and allows for more transparency about what will be delivered and when. Consequently, the Council will continue to work with service providers to identify specific projects which meet additional demand arising from the policies of this Plan, allowing for a maximum of five S106 Agreements to provide proportionate contributions to those projects, in preference to assuming funding will arise from CIL in due course.
The Council also intends to publish a generic development contributions SPD that will provide greater clarity on what level of financial contributions will be sought from the development schemes to deliver the infrastructure that is required.
Clearly, it is not possible to foresee all potential needs arising from development proposals (including windfalls), and so these will need to be assessed at the time against relevant policies in this Plan. Where specific requirements are known at this stage, these have been identified through the site allocation policies.
Policy IMP1 – Infrastructure Provision
The Council will continue to work with relevant service providers to identify and deliver the infrastructure that is needed to support the development set out in this Plan.
All developments shall make provision to meet the additional requirements for infrastructure arising from the development, either through Section 106 Agreements and / or Community Infrastructure Levy contributions.