Borough Council secures 30 million in infrastructure contributions from developers prior to CIL introduction

Pioneering work by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council has meant that over £30 million in infrastructure contributions from developers has been agreed months before the Government's new Planning Bill introduces provisions for Community Infrastructure Levies.

'We are one of the first Councils to systematically and proactively use infrastructure contributions to gain benefits for our community,' says Cllr Adam De Save, Executive Member for Planning & Housing.

Adopted in January 2006, the Council's Horley Infrastructure Provision Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) applies a levy to all sites allocated in the Local Plan for housing and also small or ‘windfall’ sites, irrespective of size, in the Horley area of the Borough.

The SPD is a direct response to the strategic allocation of 2,600 dwellings in Horley, primarily in two new neighbourhoods, which will increase the population of the town by 30 per cent.

The SPD provides the framework and justification for a comprehensive approach to infrastructure contributions totalling more than £100m. This includes enhanced public transport services, highway improvements, new community facilities and recreation and open space provision.

The Council has been advised by lawyers Denton Wilde Sapte in the development of the model of infrastructure contributions.

£1m has been collected from small housing sites across Horley. The contribution per new dwelling currently stands at £13,000 and is secured through a legal agreement, which is entered into prior to the granting of planning permission.

Using the same framework more than £30m has been secured via Section 106 Agreement with the one of the new neighbourhoods, an urban extension of 600 dwellings.

Negotiations are well advanced in relation to the larger new neighbourhood of 1,510 homes from which substantial Section 106 contributions will be secured. In other parts of the Borough the Council is helping to pilot a Surrey-wide approach which collects contributions from developers of small windfall housing sites and pools them towards improvements in education, transport, libraries, open space and recycling facilities which are necessary as the population of established urban areas increases.

This is known as the Planning Infrastructure Charge and is a partnership between participating district councils and the County Council. Participants see the Community Infrastructure Levy as a development of this approach.