Comment

Representation ID: 43906

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Department of Education

Developer Contributions and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

One of the tests of soundness is that a Local Plan is ‘effective’, meaning the plan should be deliverable over its period. In this context and with specific regard to
planning for schools, there is a need to ensure that education contributions made by developers are sufficient to deliver the additional school places required to
meet the increase in demand generated by new developments. The department notes that both Sandwell MBC and Dudley MBC have adopted CIL regimes in
place and that the Black Country Plan seeks to ensure appropriate rates are levied and the right infrastructure is secured across the Black Country Plan area.

Local authorities have sometimes experienced challenges in funding schools via Section 106 planning obligations due to limitations on the pooling of developer
contributions for the same item or type of infrastructure. However, the revised CIL Regulations remove this constraint, allowing unlimited pooling of developer
contributions from planning obligations and the use of both Section 106 funding and CIL for the same item of infrastructure. The advantage of using Section 106
relative to CIL for funding schools is that it is clear and transparent to all stakeholders what value of contribution is being allocated by which development to which schools, thereby increasing certainty that developer contributions will be used to fund the new school places that are needed. The department supports
the use of planning obligations to secure developer contributions for education wherever there is a need to mitigate the direct impacts of development, consistent with Regulation 122 of the CIL Regulations.

We also request a reference within the Local Plan’s policies or supporting text to explain that developer contributions may be secured retrospectively when it has
been necessary to forward fund infrastructure projects in advance of anticipated housing growth. An example of this would be the local authority’s expansion of a
secondary school to ensure that places are available in time to support development coming forward. This helps to demonstrate that the plan is positively prepared and deliverable over its period.

19. The department would be particularly interested in responding to any update to the Infrastructure Delivery Plan/Infrastructure Funding Statement, viability
assessment or other evidence relevant to education which may be used to inform local planning policies and CIL charging schedules. As such, please add
the department to the database for future consultations on relevant plans and proposals.