Community groups face delay in decisions on Community Grants Fund applications

 Souce LINK

Community organisation who undertook a lot of work in preparing applications to fund their activities face a frustrating delay in hearing whether they have been successful as a result of staffing issues and the volume of applications.

The Community Grants Fund is the new name  for the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy which is derived from payments made be developers.

Councillors were told by Brent Council that they had received 146 applications in total for the Community Grants Fund which is a 100% increase when compared to the last standard NCIL round in 2021.

 

The initial due diligence checks by the grants team have been completed.  However, due to capacity within the Brent Council team and the volume of applications received there will be delays in completing the initial project assessments.  

 

As a result, the Council will not be able to meet the scheduled internal department review dates and the Brent Connect panel dates that were scheduled to be held in February and March. 

 

This means that the team are still at the 12-18 weeks stage of the process shown in the above table.

 

Officers are continuing to work through the initial project assessments and have informed all applicants of the delay.

 

Councillors will be provided with a with a further update on the timeline before the end of January 2024.  In the meantime, all the meetings scheduled will be removed from your calendars.

 

Brent Community Infrastructure Levy & Section 106: what it has been spent on and the amount remaining

 

Last week the Brent Cabinet approved the annual Infrastructure Funding Statement with little discussion. Millions of pounds is involved so it is worth looking at it in some detail. To help readers I have extracted some of the tables. The full Statement with detailed commentary can be read HERE,

Brent Council introduces the Statement (extracts):

The Council has been collecting the borough’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) since July 2013. CIL is a levy applied to most developments granted planning permission that commence, and is to help deliver the infrastructure needed to support the development of the area. CIL is also important in demonstrating to communities the benefits that new development can bring, including through key infrastructure projects, place-making and local improvements.

The borough CIL receipts can be broken down into three portions – the Strategic CIL, the Neighbourhood CIL and the Administration CIL. A Mayoral CIL of £60 per sqm is collected as well and passed on to TfL on a quarterly basis. The borough keeps 4% of this levy for administrative purposes. All London Boroughs are subject to this levy, with the money used to fund the Elizabeth Line and Crossrail 2

The Council also enters into Section 106 agreements with developers – a mechanism which makes a development proposal acceptable in planning terms. S106 agreements are focused on site-specific mitigation of the impact of development such as securing affordable housing or requiring improvements to an access road. CIL, on the other hand, is designed to raise funds for infrastructure needed generally as a result of an increase in development in an area, and is spent on community infrastructure projects across the borough.

 

Although the Council has had high CIL receipts compared to the majority of other London Boroughs, it is important to note that future years CIL receipts may not be as strong given the current financial and economic conditions in the UK which may affect the commencement of developments and subsequently, CIL receipts.

The  receipts from CIl and Section 106 and their use are one of the justifications that councillors use when challenged on the anount of development in the borough that is rapidly changing its face. Provision of housing during a housing crisis and the subsequent rise in Council Tax receipts are also quoted.

One of the controversial aspects is the amount of both Strategic CIL and Neighbourhood CIL that remains unspent or unallocated at the end of the financial year and is carried forward.

The actual amount spent in 2021-22 (rounded) was SCIL £7,058,222. NCIL £4,575,043 - TOTAL £11,635,265 of which CIL Admin was £681,441.

The amount collected in 2021-22 and the amount carried forward from previous years that has not been allocated (£60m) :

 STRATEGIC CIL

So what has the SCIL been spent on?:

South Kilburn

Wembley Park

There is a full description of the Olympic Way 'improvements' which follow the large expenditure on the replacement steps in previous years. The expenditure is justified in the Statement:

The improvements are a recognition that Wembley Park is an area of national and international importance. The high quality public realm supports the ongoing transformation of the area into a thriving, attractive environment where people want to live with access to shops and entertainment.

The North End Road/Bridge Road reconnection has yet to be signalised and buses are not yet using it avoid the stadium on event days to avoid delays and curtailment of services.

NEIGHBOURHOOD CIL

 

For the distribution of Neighbourhood CIL the borough is divided into NCIL areas including the two Neighbourhood Forums. Wembley continues to get a higher allocation on the basis that it is most impacted by new developments:

There is a description of many of the projects allocated funds in the Statement and a full list can be found HERE. I understand that not all projects progress to actually receiving the funds as there are various legal and financial hoops to get through.

 

SECTION 106 FUNDING

 

Section 106 is site specific and is funding that makes a development acceptable to Planning. It is sometimes a financial contribution but may also be an allocation of the housing approved as so-called 'affordable housing'. This returns to an argument familiar to readers about the precise meaning of affordable. As the Brent Poverty Commission said that only social housing was truly affordable to Brent residents, bear that in mind when looking at the figures for the housing contribution:

So just under 14% of the 'affordable' units (column 2)  are social rent and under 4% of the total units (column 3)  in the developments.

 Section 106 Financial Contributions

 What immediately struck me on looking at these figures was the amount, £3.5m,  spent on transportation  compared with the other areas.

Transportion includes: cycle parking, electric vehicle charging points, signage around Wembley Stadium, Roe Green/Kingsbury Road junction, hostile vehicle measures in Wembley Park around the stadium and 'Wembley Two Way Working'  including North End Road mentioned earlier under SCIL.

Full details of the projects funded can be found in the Statement.

 

 

 

 

You have 2 weeks left to apply for Brent community project funding - £2m NCIL & £0.25m Health Matters - Closing Date May 31st

 

 From Brent Council

We want to hear your ideas to improve your neighbourhood. You only have two weeks to apply for the £2.25million that is available for your community projects. 

YOU Decide is a new initiative that gives local people the final say on how to spend cash locally.

• £2million* will be divided equally across the borough for physical improvements to local neighbourhoods, from painting and refurbishing a local community centre, improving children’s play areas, painting a mural, or installing public water fountains. The money will be split equally between the five Brent Connects areas.
• A further £250,000** will be given out to fund health and wellbeing projects across the five Brent Connects areas. If you have ideas to help people take up outdoor gym sessions, walking groups, health screenings, vaccinations and mental health services, as well as projects that help people live happy, healthy lives for the future.

If you are a resident, community group and voluntary organisation, come together and apply for either fund through a simple application form. Applications close on 31 May.

YOU Decide is our new approach to “Participatory Budgeting” which puts you at the heart of decision-making. A series of Decision Day events where you decide on the projects that you feel would make a real difference in your communities.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council, said: 

How would you spend more than £2million to improve neighbourhoods and health and wellbeing across Brent? This is your opportunity to bring your ideas to life. Building on the success of the CO2GO fund, which focused on green improvement projects, we’re now encouraging everyone in Brent to come forward with other creative and positive ideas that can get off the ground with the cash available. We’d love to hear from you so start submitting your application today. All ideas are welcome and the process is simple and easy to follow.”

If you would like to apply, or for more information, visit the You Decide page.

*This scheme is funded by the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL), collected from developers in the borough.

**This scheme is funded by the Brent Health Matters Health and Wellbeing Grant.

The successful Brent Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) bids

 

The Keslake Pocket Park at project stage (final details may differ)

The Cabinet approved the largest bids (over £100,000) for the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy  at its last meeting and rubber-stamped the smaller grants.

The largest grants were:

· £194,988 for Jason Roberts Foundation - Connect Brent Project: to undertake much needed upgrading works at The Pavilion, the community centre where the charity is based. The project will make the centre an all-weather facility that can be used by residents and community groups all year-round, by erecting a steel canopy over the multi-games area and 5-a-side pitch.

· £100,000 for Brent Music Service in partnership with local Harlesden schools and community groups – Brent Music Service Harlesden Music Centre Project: Providing local, easily accessible venues to address the barriers preventing CYP participation in out-of-school music activity. Weekly centres will be available for children in Harlesden schools and will become progressively more visible in the community as the project progresses.

· £124,700 for Queen's Park Area Residents' Association (QPARA) in partnership with Brent Council – Keslake Pocket Park Improvements Project: (illustrated above) The project will remodel Keslake Pocket Park to make it safer and design out anti-social behaviour, crime, loitering and littering by providing a layout and street components that create a well-lit, safe, and open space. There will be increased visibility both into and across the space and the new design will provide a pleasing visual amenity, as well as a small square area for the local community.

· £100,000 for Alperton residents in partnership with Brent Council - Creating an Open Space for the Whole Community Project: The proposal by the residents is to enhance the quality of Alperton Sports  Ground and address concerns raised by residents around the lack of outdoor and play facilities, anti-social behaviour, security and safety concerns as a result of development.

 

The smaller grants. totalling £1,046,754, can be found at paragraph 8.3 (Table 7)  of the Cabinet report (click bottom right corner for full page).

 

 

Brent Council gives residents 2 weeks to comment on the impact of anticipated developments in their local area

 

Extracts from the survey

 

 Brent Council has written to Brent residents' associations notifying them of a 2 week survey being carried out 'around' the relaunch of the Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) expected to be in late February.

They want to gather information from the survey and the application process focus groups that were held following th Black Community Action Plan and the NCIL report agreed at Cabinet on September 20th.

There are details (sparse) of the expected housing developments in each area (see  the survey LINKS as illustrated above in  2.)

They say:

We would like grass roots comments on the impacts of anticipated developments in each neighbourhood and only require the relevant neighbourhood completed. We have included a  brief summary of anticipated development in each area as the brief indicates at the beginning. We would be grateful if you could complete yourselves and also pass on to any interested parties.

 

We are also emailing the neighbourhood and town centre managers, Brent Connects members and  ward Cllrs. 

 

Ideally, we would like you to do online by clicking on this link 

 

NCIL Impact of Development Survey

 

If this is not possible, please complete the relevant neighbourhood on the attached form and email back to  ncil@brent.gov.uk  by Sunday 7^thFebruary 2021 to ncil@brent.gov.uk.

 

Please feel free to circulate to your members.

 

This is very short-notice for a very short consultation period but I am sure that many residents who are not members of a residents' association would count themselves as  'interested parties' and I urge you to take part.

Where has all Brent's CIL and S106 money gone?

 In an aside at last week's Planning Committee when speaking against the proposed Wembley Park Station 'Five Tower', Cllr Kansagra, said that Brent Council had lots of unspent Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 money in its coffers and gave the figure of £126,000,000.

We will be able to check on that claim by looking at the first Brent Annual Infrastructure Funding Statement  for the year 2019-2020 that will go to Cabinet on Monday December 7th.  Given the controversy about the use of the funding that there is in the borough,  it would  help allay concern if the Statement was called in for Scrutiny.

You will find some extracts below which help give an overall view and further full details and explanations can be found in the very extensive report. 75% of CIL is labelled Strategic CIL (SCIL) and used for infrastructure projects, 5% for managing CIL and the rest for Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL) - used for local community led projects after a bidding and selection process.

£63m unallocated and therefore unspent

Note the difference between 'allocated' and 'spent'.

So at the end of the year 2019-20 there was £105m in the SCIL coffer and £14m in NCIL - £119m rounded

So about half of the NCIL collected in 2019-20  £2m) was spent on neighbourhood projects  but the amount retained, including from previous years, was £14m.

Barnhill and Preston wards are missing but may be covered by multi-wards. A lot depends on how organised councillors and community groups in their wards are in terms of putting in bids. Again this is 'allocated' not spent. Often there is underspend and in 2019-20 it would have beenimpacted by Covid restrictions at the end of year.

The individual projects allocated funds and the amount spent can be found in the full report (Table 6) it covers 7 pages.

 

£4.7m of Section 106  appears to have been carried forward and not allocated to any project.  Added to the £119m on SCIL and NCIL it amounts to £124m - not far off Cllr Kansangra's figure.

Affordable units in developments were secured as part of the Section 106 deal. A good use of S106.

Underspend probably the result of Covid lockdown.

 Full report here include indications of future expenditure on infrastructure that would use up some of the retained funds. Click bottom right corner for full page version.

£267,983 CIL grant to Preston Community Library for 'fitting out'

Brent Cabinet last night approved the granting of a larger than usual Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) grant of £267,983 for the fitting out of Preston Community Library.

The community library is housed in the building which used to be the council run Preston Library, closed by a former Labour administration as part of the so-called 'Libraries Transformation Project'. After closure the building became an annexe to Preston Park Primary School but is no longer needed by the school.

Under the management of the volunteers in the Preston Community Library campaign, the building has become a well-used community hub with a cinema and classes as well as an adult and children's lending library.

The site is ear-marked for redevelopment so the grant is subject to receipt of formal approval for the 'wider development' of the site which would include room for the community library.  Brent Council's Property Team would be responsible for construction and Preston Community Library for internal fixtures and fittings.

Former councillor James Powney, architect of the Libraries Transformation Project,  has signalled his opposition to the deal, stating on his blog LINK,  'I think this raises a number of legal issues and I have written to the officers to that effect.'