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General Question - 23rd July 2009 |
Under Standing Order 14, Councillor C.V. Strong asked the following question:
“Many Councils throughout Surrey have followed nationally recommended best practice (ODPM Circular 05/2005) to use planning infrastructure contributions to generate significant monies from small schemes. These monies help to fund local services.
Spelthorne Council has, so far, ignored this route and secures little money in relation to small schemes. This results in a significant shortfall in funds that could be used to provide local services.
It is recognised nationally that the cumulative effect of many small schemes, whether commercial or housing, has a significant effect on both local infrastructure and public services.
Why does the Council NOT intend to introduce an infrastructure contributions Supplementary Planning Document that would generate additional monies?”
The Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing and Deputy Leader, Councillor R.A. Smith-Ainsley, responded as follows:
“Firstly I am pleased to clarify that, contrary to Councillor Strong’s misleading assertions, this Council has very clear policies requiring infrastructure contributions and has in fact secured over £3.5 million in the last 10 years – a substantial sum which even he must agree with.
Rather than ignoring Government guidance we are actually leading the way.
Our Core Strategy and Policies Development Plan Document, which was adopted by this Council in February of this year, has specific policy requirements for contributions to affordable housing, open space and transport works, as well as general provisions to meet any other justified need. We already have a commitment to prepare Supplementary Guidance on how those policies operate.
Some Surrey Districts have adopted interim Supplementary Guidance on infrastructure contributions in lieu of having adopted Core Strategies. But such guidance does NOT have the weight our OWN policies have”.
Councillor R.A. Smith-Ainsley agreed to obtain a written response to the supplementary question raised by Councillor C.V. Strong concerning a breakdown on the infrastructure contributions obtained over the last ten years and whether the contributions were for large or small schemes.
The response obtained is set out below:
“Attached at Appendix A to these minutes is a schedule of all the sites where money has been secured since the beginning of 1998.
The figure given in the original answer at Council on 23 July 2009 of £3.5m was actually the same figure given more than a year earlier to a similar question and the figure was rounded. It nevertheless was thought helpful in providing a general indication of the order of magnitude of contributions secured. The Council now has some 11.5 years since the original base date Officers were working to and the precise total is of course now larger.
The sites are all defined as large sites and include both those where money has already been paid and also where construction is still to commence and the requirement for payment, whilst secured by agreement, has not yet been triggered. The schemes in the schedule add up to over £4.9 million now.”