An effective way of securing provisons, funding and
other resources for sport and recreation provision in association
with new development is through the use of developer
contributions.
- Developer contributions can be made up of two elements;
- Charges under the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) towards
infrastructure provision to support development in an area
generally and/or
Site specific planning obligations under Section 106 of the 1990
Act, designed to make individual applications acceptable in
planning terms.
Advice for local authority planners, leisure and sports
officers regarding CIL
- Potential charging authorities [district councils, unitary
authorities and the London Boroughs], will now be considering
whether to adopt CIL in parallel with the use of section 106
agreements, or to retain section 106 agreements alone, as ways of
securing developer contributions.
- Planning, leisure and sports officers should;
- Assess existing information on the need and demand for sport
and recreation provision in terms of how it will assist in creating
a CIL charging schedule
- Look at the potential for adapting any existing standard charge
approaches to sport, currently used for section 106 agreements,
into CIL charges
- Ensure liaison between sport and planning officers results in
built sports facilities, as well as outdoor facilities such as
playing fields, being included in CIL charging schedules
- Consider how lists of appropriate projects, in areas affected
by development, can be established and prioritised for
implementation.
The Community Infrastructure Levy
The Community Infrastructure Levy [the levy] allows local
authorities to set financial charges which developers must pay when
bringing forward new development in order to contribute to new
infrastructure. The money can be used to support development by
funding infrastructure that the council, local community and
neighbourhoods want. The levy is intended to assist in providing
infrastructure to support the development of an area rather than to
make individual applications acceptable in planning terms.
‘Sporting and recreational facilities’ are included within the
definition of CIL infrastructure in the 2008 Planning Act (section
216).
The levy was brought into operation in April 2010 and, where
adopted, applies to virtually all new housing and commercial
development.
In order for the levy to be operational in an area, the charging
authority must produce a draft charging schedule which is subject
to public consultation. The schedule must also undergo a public
examination by an independent person before it can be formally
approved.
The Localism Bill [December 2010] introduces a number of
proposed changes to the regulations. These include measures to:
- Require a meaningful proportion of the funds collected to be
passed to neighbourhoods where development has taken place;
and
- Make clear that funds can be spent on the ongoing costs of
infrastructure, as well as on initial costs.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has set up
the Community Infrastructure Levy Front Runners Project. The
project is aimed at supporting local authorities to develop the
best practise approach to implementing CIL in their local
area.
Click here for an outline of the key
elements of the
CIL
scheme
Click here for a DCLG overview of the
CIL
( May 2011)
Planning obligations
These are private agreements between local planning authorities
and developers designed to mitigate the site specific impacts of
new development. Such measures will be designed to make individual
applications acceptable in planning terms.
The tests of acceptability of planning obligations [that the
obligation is necessary in planning terms, directly related and
reasonable in scale and kind] have been made statutory. This
suggests that all planning obligations capable of being charged
under the CIL, will be rendered unlawful.
From April 2014 the regulations will restrict the local use for
pooling contributions from a number of individual developments
towards specific infrastructure. This will have the effect of
removing existing tariff arrangements that have been successfully
used by many local authorities for sports and recreation provision.
Most developer contributions for sport and recreation provisions
will therefore be secured through CIL in the future.
Maintenance contributions
Planning obligations can still be used to obtain maintenance
contributions towards new sports facilities.
Click here
to read an account of the key changes to planning obligations,
including those relating to maintenance payments
Click here for the wording of Circular
5/05 on Planning Obligations
Systematic infrastructure planning
Planning Policy Statement 12 Local Spatial Planning identifies
the local development framework core strategy as the main means of
orchestrating the provision of necessary social, physical and green
infrastructure in an area.
Systematic infrastructure planning forms part of the evidence
base needed to justify the proposals in core strategies, and is a
test of soundness of the plan. It will also be used by authorities
to help shape their assessments for CIL.
Assessing sports needs, costs and the phasing of provisions is
part of the infrastructure planning process.
Click here to read the DCLG guidance on infrastructure planning
contained in PPS 12
Click
here for information on approaches to infrastructure planning
proposed by the Planning Advisory Service
Development plans
DCLG advice, and the provisions of the Localism Bill currently
before Parliament, outline the following local planning
framework:
- Local development frameworks; made up of a number of
development plan documents (DPD) including a core strategy, area
action plans for areas of change and development, and development
control DPDs;
- Neighbourhood plans; proposed in the Localism Bill, these are
plans prepared by communities to shape development in local
neighbourhood areas. They will be required to be consistent with
the strategic elements of local authority development plans, and a
‘light touch’ examination of the plan by an independent assessor
will help ensure this; and
- Supplementary planning documents; which give further detail of
approved policies and how these work; these can include topics such
as developer contributions for sport and recreation.
- Regional Spatial Strategies will be formally abolished under
the Localism Act.
Click
here for the provisions of the Localism Bill currently before
Parliament.
Co-operative working to prepare Local Development
Frameworks
A number of local authorities are working together to develop
joint core strategies and co-operative forms of infrastructure
planning. Areas where this is underway include North
Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Luton/South Bedfordshire.
Click here
for further details of joint core strategies.
PPG 17 and national planning policy
Planning Policy Guidance Note 17 Planning for Open Space, Sport
and Recreation advises on the situations in which planning
contributions can be sought. All planning guidance, including
circulars and PPGs, is currently being consolidated into a National
Planning Policy framework document.
Click here for the text of PPG 17; Planning for Open Space,
Sport and Recreation
Our objectives for planning contributions
Sport England Strategy 2008-2011
Our aim is to build the foundations of sporting success by
creating a world-leading community sport environment in England,
through the three outcomes of Grow, Sustain and Excel. To achieve
this it is essential that inward investment is secured through the
planning system to meet the sporting demand of existing and future
residents along with known and future needs of sport.
Within Sport England’s Delivery Plan, ensuring the potential
benefits of securing planning contributions are identified as a
strategic priority, and as a means of maximising investment into
sport. The Kitbag is one of the principal tools which we use to
encourage and assist the planning system to deliver grater
investment into sport through new development.