Annual Report on spending of Brent Infrastructure Levy reveals large amount unspent

 

The amount of development in Brent generates Community Infrastructure Levy most of which goes to Brent, some to the GLA. 

The Borough Infrastrutcure Levy (this year £26m rounded) is split into Strategic expenditure and Neighbourhood projects expenditure.

 The amount collected in 2023-23 is on top of the amounts carried forward from previous years. This year, unallocated prior to 2022-23 was £61.5m.

There are restrictions around precisely what Strategic CIL can be spent on.  These are allocations for 2022-23 (actual spending of allocations may be in later years) amounting to £17m.

 

NEIGHBOURHOOD COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE LEVY (NCIL)

£2m Neighbourhood CIL allocations were made in 2022-23 for 58 projects some which work across the borough though allocated to a particular NCIL neighbourhood. Note that the two Neighbourhood Forums that also have access to the NCIL made no successful bids this year:

Full details of the projects can be found in the statement embedded at the foot of this article. Note that not all projects allocated funding may actually come to fruition and unspent amounts are carried forward to next year.

SECTION 106 CONTRIBUTIONS

These are agreements made between the Council and developers that enable a development to go ahead by mitigating their impact. £10M was allocated in 2022-23 of which a significant amount went towards 'affordable' housing (Brent's definition). Only 21 of 462 units were at social rent.

CARBON OFFSET FUND

This is a much smaller pot and in 2022-23 £100,000 was distributed to 9 organisations working to reduce carbon emissions in Brent. It is well worth looking at these projects in detail in the full report below.

 

The full report is embedded below including details of Strategic CIL, Neighbourhood CIL, Section 106 projects and the Carbon Offset Fund projects.

Cllr Tatler takes over as Deputy Leader of Brent Coucil while Cllr Mili Patel is on maternity leave

 

Cllr Tatler

 

 

Kingsbury councillor Shama Tatler has become Deputy Leader of Brent Council while Cllr Mili Patel is on maternity leave. Cllr Patel was congratulated on the birth of her baby at the Brent Cabinet meeting this morning. Cllr Tatler is now Deputy Leader, Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources & Reform and Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Growth.

 

At today's meeting Leader Cllr Muhammed Butt extolled the benefits of regeneration for Brent residents when the Cabinet approved Strategic CIL projects in Alperton, South Kilburn and Harlesden.

Brent Council's Strategic CIL £4.5m spending plans for Alperton parks, Kilburn Medical Centre and Harlesden Picture Palace

There's a bit of a spending spree on the Cabinet Agenda for  September 11th. The Stragetic Community Infrastructure Levy (gained from a levy on new developments)  is in  a fairly healthy state and there are proposals in the meeting papers for spending on three major projects. (Extracts from Cabinet papers):

Cabinet Reports Pack

Parks Improvements in the Alperton Growth Area - £525,466

The growth in the Alperton Growth area, with 1,400 new homes delivered in the past 10 years and at least 6,500 new homes expected by 2040, is resulting in increasing demand on local parks and open spaces and the need for improvements to them. The parks and open spaces in Alperton have long been identified for investment, initially in the 2011 masterplan and again in the Local Plan. There are also proven public health benefits from improving access to parks and open green spaces. 

The estimated cost for the improvement works in the parks and the sports ground is £625,466 and includes 10% contingency and 10% future maintenance cost allowance. This report seeks approval for a budget allocation to this value of £625,466, with an allocation of £525,466 Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (SCIL) and £100,000 from the public health reserve to fund this spend.

South Kilburn Medical Centre - additional £600,000

 Cabinet agreed in April 2020 a SCIL contribution of £3.47 million for the 3 medical centres proposed in growth areas (Wembley Park, Grand Union, and South Kilburn). The funding was towards the physical fit out of the medical centres. The South Kilburn contribution was agreed at £1,104 million. A funding agreement was subsequently entered into with the then CCG.

The Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) now advise that due to the increase in costs the South Kilburn medical centre is no longer viable, with a viability gap of £1.2 million. The ICP have agreed to contribute half of this, if the Council agrees to match fund this at up to £600,000 from SCIL.

 

Harlesden Picture Palace  -  £3,300,000

This report is part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to create long lasting positive change to Harlesden for the benefit of the communities that live there.
 

The Picture Palace building is expected to become a significant cultural and community use anchor for the community and the Council has been working with a consortium of local organisations to deliver this exciting project. By approving the use of SCIL for the building refurbishment, it will allow the
project’s ambitions to be realised and for the Harlesden communities to be able to operate and utilise the building in the future.

The refurbishment project helps to meet outcomes within the Borough Plan, namely Strategic Priority 3 Thriving Communities to allow the local community to be involved in and lead on activities for their communities. The project also delivers on an objective within the Black Community Action Plan by developing a community space to be run and managed by local communities. It also helps to achieve objectives within the Local Plan and Infrastructure Delivery Plan by providing community facilities for Brent’s growing population

Brent Community Infrastructure Levy spending 2020-21: Was distribution fair?

 

The Brent Infrastructure Fund Statement 2020-21 has now been published.  LINK It covers the Community Infrastructure Level (CIL) which includes Strategic and Neighbourhood elements, Section 106 and Section 278 Funding.

There are several headline items in the report. The first is the total amount of money in the CIL pot, money derived from the contribution of developers to the general infrastructure of the borough and second, the proportion of that which has not been allocated.

For Strategic CIL  (SCIL) -  out of £95m unspent more than half, £54m has not been allocated to any project. (Rounded figures)  £13m of Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL) was unspent of which £6.5m had not been allocated - slightly less than half.

 

STRATEGIC CIL

So what was SCIL spent on? Wembley got the majority of the funding and that is Wembley Park - Tokyngton Ward (Muhammed Butt's ward) rather than other parts of  Wembley.

Morland Gardens is the controversial redevelopment of the Adult Education Centre at 1 Morland Gardens, Stonebridge.

Details:

Wembley Two Way Working & Wembley North End Road - As identified in the Core Strategy and Wembley Area Action Plan, there is the need for new road connections and junction improvements to support the ongoing development of the  Wembley Growth area. These include two significant road improvement schemes which have been implemented to improve traffic flow and connectivity through the area.

The first phase of the Wembley Two Way working project was completed and operational on 22nd March 2020 and plans for the second phase and further improvements on First Way and South Way are being developed. The new North End Road connector to Bridge Road opened on 11th June 2021 ahead of the EURO 2020 tournament initially operating as a T junction. The Highways and Infrastructure Team are working with Transport for London on signalising the new junction by the end of the year.

Olympic Way Public Realm Improvements – 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.

Public and private investment for Olympic Way has involved a new treatment to the Bobby Moore Bridge, new hard and soft landscaping throughout, a new crossing at Fulton Road, new lighting, trees, street furniture, wayfinding, WIFI, a new public square, and replacement of the ‘pedway’ with steps, lifts and flexible covered space to form an iconic new entrance to the national stadium.

 

Morland Gardens Education Facility - Is an investment in skills and employability prospects for residents. Cabinet have agreed SCIL contribution towards the redevelopment of the existing adult education facility in Morland Gardens, Stonebridge. The new, mixed use redevelopment will provide an expanded and improved educational facility, along with workspace, a community space and 65 new council homes
 

NEIGHBOURHOOD CIL

 

The CIL Regulations 2010 stipulates that at least 15% of CIL receipts must be spent on neighbourhood project.  Of that 15% up to 25% may be spent on priorities identified by Neighbourhood Forums. Two are established in Harlesden and Sudbury Town and another is under consultation in Kilburn. Neither of the former were allocated anything and £1,5m of the total £2m went to Wembley. Brent Council points out that the projects are recorded in the originating borough but may be for services across the borough, Some of the projects are in initiatives of the Council itself.  

In line with the CIL Regulations, NCIL can be used to fund a very broad range of facilities such as play areas, parks and green spaces, public realm improvements, cultural and sports facilities, healthcare facilities, and other community facilities provided it is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on the area. The NCIL must be spent on priorities agreed in consultation with the local community. These priorities must be aligned with the needs of the local community. 

 
CIL funding has no immediate deadline and therefore is available on a rolling annual basis. It is important to recognise that CIL receipts can only be spent on capital projects, although associated revenue spending to maintain those capital items is also permissible

The discrepancy (often large) between the amount allocated and the actual spend in some one-year projects  is   likely due to the affect of Covid restrictions.  Other projects cober 2 - 3 years.

SECTION 106

Section 106 funds are secured through planning obligations and are site specific (rather than general) to mitigate the impact of development. Clearly the claim on 'affordable housing' needs to be broken down as 'affordable' is such a slippery concept in Brent usage.

 

SECTION 278 HIGHWAYS

 

Paid under the Highways Act where the development requires changes or improvements to the public highway.