Infrastructure funding statement 2022 to 2023

Foreword

This report:

• outlines how we have spent developer contributions from new housing and other developments in the last financial year
• promotes visibility of the processes involved, as we seek to ensure that growth and development in Lincolnshire communities brings investment in supporting facilities and infrastructure

Housing and other developments in Lincolnshire are essential to make sure our economy and communities thrive. Developments can also lead to an increased need for public services such as schools, transport and other infrastructure. All local authorities in Lincolnshire take their responsibility for planning very seriously. Councils work together to consider the positive and negative impacts of any development, before permission is granted.

Construction companies and developers will often be required to make contributions towards local improvements at the time of granting planning permission. This is either through a Section 106 agreement, or through 'Community Infrastructure Levy' (CIL), depending what is in place in each district.

Some of the projects on which money was spent during 2022 to 2023 include:

• improvements to Holdingham roundabout
• a reduced speed limit in Corby Glen
• an expansion to Donington Thomas Cowley High School, and
• expansions to Navenby primary school.

Section 106 and CIL are a small part of our wider spending. Further information on our capital programme and Government grant funding can be found on our website.

Introduction

At the time of writing in 2023, proposed changes to developer contributions were detailed in Government publications but not yet enacted. The proposed primary legislation is broad in its scope and can be seen in the Government’s Levelling Up Bill. Details on the proposed infrastructure levy and potential secondary legislation can also be found in the Government’s published documentation on its proposed Infrastructure Levy.  These changes are likely to take many years to affect Lincolnshire.

The following statements were relevant in 2023 to fulfil the current legal requirements to produce an Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS). Future annual statements (or replacements to statements) will be prepared under the relevant legal framework at that time.

This statement provides relevant summary details of certain types of financial and other contributions we have secured and, or spent for the 2022 to 2023 financial year. This is to fulfil the obligation for all Councils to report annually as set out in the second of the 2019 amendments to the original Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, under the Planning Act 2008. These regulations are referred to elsewhere in this statement as the 2019(no2) Regulations or simply the Regulations. The summary details primarily relate to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and "section 106 agreements". Information has also been included on agreements under the Highways Act as is optional under the CIL Regulations.

The sections of this statement provide the following to meet Regulation 121A requirements:

1. Statement on how future Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is intended to be used to fund infrastructure
2. CIL Report, including details on CIL transferred to Lincolnshire County Council to March 2023; and,
3. Section 106 Report. Relevant summary details of "section 106 agreements" to March 2023

This is the fourth such annual statement with Regulations introduced in advance of the 2019 to 2020 IFS. References in this statement to 'the year' or 'the reported year' are 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

Statement on future Community Infrastructure Levy

As stated in the introduction above, at the time of writing in 2023, this statement was under the legal framework that was current and relevant to developer contributions.

This part of the IFS relates to clause 'a' of Regulation 121A which is focused on CIL.

Lincolnshire is a "two-tier" area with Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and seven district councils. Although LCC works very closely with each district, it is those councils which are the CIL charging authorities: responsible for whether and how to set CIL. Local Plan preparation and CIL preparation are often closely aligned so the explanations below are made in relation to those processes for the respective areas.

Boston Borough Council, East Lindsey District Council, South Holland District Council and South Kesteven District Council have decided not to adopt CIL yet. LCC will continue to engage with these four councils on their Local Plans, including policies for section 106 and potential CIL. 

In 2018, City of Lincoln Council, North Kesteven District Council and West Lindsey District Council worked with each other to adopt and implement CIL. Those authorities and LCC had already formed the Central Lincolnshire Joint Strategic Planning Committee (CLJSPC) to produce a single Local Plan and evidence base. Where CIL has been received by LCC, it has repaid the cost of the Lincoln Eastern Bypass (LEB) that was forward funded by LCC. This has been a longstanding principle the four authorities' joint assessments and strategies around the Local Plan and CIL. The bypass is the subject of a signed Memorandum of Understanding between the authorities that agrees its importance in developer contributions funding. The bypass has also been a key part of the Lincolnshire Local Transport Plan and Lincoln Transport Strategy. LCC intends that this same purpose continues for future CIL from this part of Lincolnshire, working with the three district councils and the CLJSPC.

CIL report

This part of the IFS relates to clause 'b' of Regulation 121A. Each matter from schedule 2 of the Regulations is included in brackets alongside the relevant information.

LCC received £908,279.71 from CIL for 2022 to 2023 (matter 1(b) in Schedule 2 to the Regulations).  

As indicated in the Statement on Future CIL, as above, all the CIL received was used solely to make repayments towards some of the cost of Lincoln Eastern Bypass. Spending on the Bypass has been many millions of pounds larger, given the scale of that project. There was no other CIL expenditure in the year (matter 1(e) and matter 1(g)(i)).

There were no CIL receipts, whenever collected, which were allocated but not spent during the year (matter 1(f) and 1(h)).

Of the amount of CIL spending as above, noting that this is a loan repayment, the notional interest is £33,697 (matter 1(g)(ii)).

LCC is not a CIL collecting authority. This is because "county matters" development almost exclusively relates to minerals and waste operations or to infrastructure itself which do not usually involve buildings. In instances where buildings are developed under relevant permissions, these would rarely, if ever, meet the legal tests to attract CIL. Therefore, matters 1(a) to (l) are either covered above or do not apply to LCC. In short, LCC did not collect any CIL for the relevant year and is unlikely to do so in future years.

Section 106 report

This part of the IFS relates to 'c' of Regulation 121A, as amended by the second 2019 amendment to the CIL Regulations. Each line in the following table addresses a matter as it appears in Schedule 2 of the Regulations.

The optional information against matters 4(a) and 4(b) of Schedule 2 is also provided. This is details on Section 278 agreements (delivered under that section of the Highways Act 1980) and other highways agreements (respectively).

Table 1: Summary details of planning obligations money allocated but not spent during 2022 to 2023 (matter 3(g))

Table 2: Summary details of planning obligations money spent by LCC during 2022 to 2023 (matter 3(h) to (i))

Table 3: Summary details of S278 Highways Agreements entered into in 2022/23 (matter 4(a))

Table 4: Summary details of other Highways Agreements for 2022 to 2023 (matter 4(b))