CIL Funding

As per the CIL Regulations and Guidance, CIL is proportioned and allocated using the following approach:

• Up to 5% is retained by Huntingdonshire District Council to cover administrative costs (including, but not limited to, consultation on the levy charging schedule, collection of CIL, enforcing CIL, legal costs and reporting on CIL activity)

• 15%, known as the Neighbourhood Allocation, is established for spending within the neighbourhood of the contributing development (up to a maximum of £100 per existing Council Tax dwelling index linked). This allocation can either be transferred to the relevant town/parish council or retained by Huntingdonshire District Council to be spent on neighbourhood projects where the development is not in a parish. This allocation rises to 25% and is not capped when a parish has a Neighbourhood Plan in place. Details of parishes that have adopted Neighbourhood Plans can be found on our Neighbourhood Planning page. Figure 2, below, sets out the relationship between CIL and Neighbourhood Plans.

• Up to 80%, known as the Strategic Allocation, is retained by Huntingdonshire District Council to allocate to projects in accordance with the council's Infrastructure Development Plan.

Applying for CIL funding

If you are a parish or town council or infrastructure provider, you have the opportunity twice a year to submit a request for CIL funding from the 'Strategic Portion' of the CIL funds (approximately 80% of the total monies received) that have been collected by HDC as a CIL Charging Authority.

For the avoidance of doubt, the fund is restricted in its use and, under Regulation 59 (1) and (3) of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (as amended), CIL must be applied by the Charging Authority to:

• fund the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure to support the development of its area

• support the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure outside its area where to do so would support the development of its area.

If you are considering applying for Strategic CIL funding, we highly recommend completing a CIL Strategic Funding Enquiry form.

The enquiry form is a simple form which will help the Implementation team advise you on whether this could be eligible for funding. The response you receive will advise you what information we would expect to see supporting an application.

It is not mandatory to complete an enquiry form prior to submitting a CIL funding application, but we would highly recommend it.

Strategic funding rounds will open up to twice a year for applications. At any point during the year, a CIL Strategic Funding Enquiry form can be completed, and it is recommended to complete this process before submitting a CIL funding application.

Prior to a CIL funding round being opened, the dates for the round will be advertised on this webpage. Huntingdonshire District Council will contact Ward members, Town/Parishes, key Infrastructure Partners and anyone who has submitted a CIL funding enquiry form, to confirm the funding round dates.

Application Process    

Applications will be made on a standard online template issued by Huntingdonshire District Council and will request key information about the infrastructure project, including:

• what is the infrastructure project
• why the project is required (justification)
• cost of the project
• timing for project delivery
• match funding from other sources.

Officer Assessment

Once the application forms requesting CIL funding have been reviewed by a council officer, initial assessment of the projects will then take place. The projects will be assessed based on the following headings:

• the links to the HDC Statement of Intent
• the need for the project based on local growth
• Other funding in place for the project
• the deliverability of the project including contingency amounts, risks and milestone timings
• the links to the project and the Corporate Plan, Place Strategy, Local Plan and any other key HDC strategies.

Projects will be viewed more favourably if they lever in other funds that would not otherwise be available, particularly where those funds may not be available in future years, or where it makes use of match funding.  Match funding support of an appropriate level from the relevant Town or Parish Council, whether from the Parish Neighbourhood Allocation ('meaning proportion') or other parish funds, will also provide greater support to the application and show the prioritisation the Parish Council places on the project.

Project Decisions

The outcome of this review of applications for funding of £100,000 or less will then be reported to the Leader, and the Executive Councillor for Planning with the Corporate Director (Place), and the Chief Planning Officer. Decisions on applications seeking funding of £100,000.00 or less will be made at this point and reported for information at the next Strategic bid report to Cabinet. All other applications (more than £100,000.00) will be reported to Cabinet for consideration and approval. Cabinet will also be informed of the decisions already made on smaller applications in order to ensure it has the full picture, with updates to the ongoing projects.

Monitoring and Publicity 

Successful applicants of CIL funding will be expected to maintain communication with Huntingdonshire District Council on the progress of their project after a decision has been made to provide funding. Where funding has been agreed, the scheme applicant will be expected to first provide information to justify funding being transferred, this includes for any milestone payments.

Applicants should continue to provide information until the scheme has been completed and all CIL funding has been spent. As a minimum, a quarterly update, providing information on the progress of each scheme that funding has been allocated to, will be needed. A requirement to submit this information forms part of the agreement (Contract) that successful external applicants are required to sign between themselves and Huntingdonshire District Council.

Applicants will also be expected to include reference to CIL funding in any social media/publicity about the project.

View the 'How to apply for CIL' video.

• If the application form asks for a specific answer like total project cost, just supply the answer. Any additional information can be supplied in the business case.

• Ask a critical friend to check your application, as what may seem obvious to you, may not be obvious to the people reading it.

• A key element is risk which includes contingency.

• The form is only set up to be available for 31 days once started, so make sure you have completed it within this timescale.

• If you have a made Neighbourhood plan and your project is not in it, please use the business plan to explain this.

• All applicants will be expected to reach out to the local town/parish council, and for them to consider the use of their meaningful funds to support the project.

The majority of CIL funds, the Strategic Proportion, will be retained by Huntingdonshire District Council for spending on infrastructure in accordance with the council's Local Plan, Corporate Plan and Huntingdonshire Futures Place Strategy. The annual Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) will include reference to the current strategic priorities and the amount of CIL funding collected.

The allocation of these funds will be made through an application process as part of a funding round, which will ultimately be agreed either by the Leader and Executive Councillor for Planning in consultation with the Corporate Director (Place) and Chief Planning Officer or will be considered by the council's Cabinet, depending on the amount of funding sought.

The council will encourage and consider the submission of application forms during a CIL funding round, requesting CIL funding for the delivery of infrastructure projects. Key internal and external stakeholders responsible for helping with the delivery of strategic infrastructure will receive direct notification of the opportunity to request CIL funding. Information about the opportunity will also be available on the council's website.

Proposals may be considered out of set funding rounds if there are exceptional circumstances to do so and if agreed prior to submission with the Leader and the Executive Councillor for Planning.

View the Business Case Template [DOCX, 74KB].

The key principles that form a 'statement of intent' for the council's new agreed governance and approach to CIL are:

• The primary use of CIL is to fund infrastructure that is directly linked to supporting or mitigating the impact of growth and new development.

• CIL funded projects can also contribute towards achieving the outcomes identified in the council's Corporate Plan and Place Strategy

• CIL should be used in a way which leverages other sources of funding for greater impact.

• The use of CIL should be considered alongside other developer contributions to maximise site-specific benefits (for example: Affordable housing).

• A new approach to allocating CIL should follow a programme-led, evidence-based approach.

• A new approach to CIL should recognise the Importance of working with partners to deliver infrastructure.

• There should be greater alignment between local and district-wide priorities.

In order for a project to be considered for CIL funding, the following eligibility criteria need to be met:

• the project must comply with the Statement of Intent and support new growth within the District

• all supporting documentation, identified in the application form, has been provided

• the organisation has the legal right to carry out the proposed project

• the project is clearly defined as 'Infrastructure' as per the CIL Regulations

• the project is listed in the council's Infrastructure Delivery Plan / Infrastructure Funding Statement or is for infrastructure that supports growth of the area

• the project supports the Local Plan, Corporate Strategy and Place Strategy principles

• support of the relevant town/ parish council has been obtained and, if it is a transport-related project, from Cambridgeshire County Council.

There may be occasions, in exceptional circumstances, where the release of CIL funds is required for urgent or unforeseen infrastructure requirements. Permission must be gained in advance of submissions for these projects to be submitted by the Leader and Executive Councillor for Planning. In these cases, a decision on an application will be made by either the Leader and the Executive Councillor for Planning in consultation with the Corporate Director (Place), the Chief Planning Officer (if for £100,000 or less) or Cabinet (if it is for over £100,000.00) for approval for the release of further funds at the earliest opportunity.