New Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regulations came into force on 1 September 2019. Under the new regulations the council publishes an annual Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) which reports on all developer contribution (s106, CIL and RAMS) receipts and expenditure and provides a list of projects the council intends to fund through CIL, s106 and other funding sources.
The list of projects that the council intends to fund through developer contributions will change and be updated as statutory infrastructure providers, such as Education, Health, Waste and Highways, prioritise delivery of infrastructure projects, particularly for areas that are experiencing new housing developments starting to be built. Regular meetings are held with statutory infrastructure providers to ensure they are aware of developments that are likely to be commencing and to discuss the timing of their proposed projects. The Infrastructure List will be annually reviewed and updated to include projects progress . Some of these projects will apply through CIL bids for District CIL Funding and will receive priority as either critical or essential infrastructure that is already identified as being required to support new housing and employment areas.
Since 2021-22, the IFS includes an update on the progress of infrastructure projects funded through CIL and this format will be followed for future Statements.
The Community Infrastructure Levy Spending Strategy was approved in January 2020 and was recently updated in September 2023 and provides an overview of the funding allocation process that is followed. The latest Infrastructure Funding Statement includes an updated Infrastructure List and a progress report on the delivery of CIL funded infrastructure projects.
Applications for the District CIL Fund and the Local CIL Fund can be submitted to CIL@eastsuffolk.gov.uk between 1 April and 31 May. If you are unsure which bid route is best for your proposal (Local or District) please do not hesitate to contact the team for guidance. The Local CIL Fund will be based on 3% of the District CIL receipts received in the previous financial year and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Any unallocated Local CIL Fund is held and added to the next years 3% allocation. The CIL Spending Working Group can approve the Local CIL Fund requests and therefore the turnaround time for receiving the funding is much faster. The Local CIL Fund allocation will be reviewed and agreed annually by the CIL Spending Working Group and may be withdrawn periodically when there are significant demands being made on the District CIL Fund.
Recommendations for District CIL funding will be made to Cabinet by the CIL Spending Working Group in September.
There are validation and prioritisation criteria that need to be met before projects can be accepted as valid and recommended for funding. It is important that all applications for District CIL or Local CIL Funds are submitted in a completed form and with all necessary supporting information. Where the infrastructure project is on land owned by the County Council, or is infrastructure delivered through or for a statutory partner, it is expected that bids are submitted via that organisation as a jointly agreed application. For example new sports infrastructure on an education site would be a bid submitted jointly with Suffolk County Council, or a new pedestrian crossing could be a jointly submitted bid from the Suffolk Highways and a parish council.
The Bid round status table will be updated to denote if the relevant CIL Fund is currently open or closed to applications. Where it is possible to publish the amount of available fund we will do so, once financial year end verification has been completed.
Fund type | Status | Next bid round |
---|---|---|
District CIL | Closed | 1 April 2025 - 31 May 2025 |
Local projects | Closed | 1 April 2025 - 31 May 2025 |
Where approved developments are about to commence or have commenced in areas of growth, it is now possible for local councils to apply for forward funding of the value of the Neighbourhood CIL that these developments will generate. This is to enable local councils to bring forward the delivery of a local priority project which they are planning. The project must be identified as required in the Neighbourhood Plan or Parish Infrastructure Investment Plan and be deliverable in the short term.
The applications for Forward Funding of Neighbourhood CIL will be considered on a case by case basis by the CIL Spending Working Group.
A separate application form is available to download for requests for forward funding of and applications can be submitted at any time outside of the bid round process for District CIL Funding.