Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule and Regulation 123 List

'Sporting and recreation facilities' are included within the definition of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) infrastructure in the 2008 Planning Act (section 216) which means money raised can be used to fund new or enhanced sports facilities. Sport England would suggest paragraph 20 of the CIL Schedule be amended to clarify that Sports development will be exempt from paying CIL.

Within the 'Leisure, sport, open space and green infrastructure' section of the Reg 123 (appendix 2) the Council lists a number of projects which should be funded by CIL including:
* New Bexhill Leisure Centre
* Improvements to playing pitches
* Indoor and outdoor sports and leisure provision and associated facilities

In the second column, it advises that new sports and recreation facilities which are directly related to a specific development site and are required to ensure local plan policy compliance will not be sought through CIL. Sport England are in agreement with this approach, however would recommend that it is further developed. Firstly Sport England would advise that the projects to be funded by CIL must be very specific and should be a high priority for the Council. A good example is the creation of a new leisure centre because it has political buy in and is likely to go forward, however unless there is an action plan which details the necessary improvement to playing pitch or the provision of indoor and outdoor sports leisure provision then it may be better to take these off the Reg 123 list. However in order to secure the improvements to playing pitches, there needs to be an action plan which identifies what developments (no more than five) will have S106s attached to pull the finances for such improvements. The action plan should be within the playing pitch strategy.

The playing pitch strategy should provide clear direction on what improvements are needed at pitch sites. Whilst Rother has undertaken a Playing Pitch Strategy, the site specific recommendations from the supply and demand analysis in Appendix K was not carried through into an action plan within the main document. The action plan should define time periods for undertaking the improvements/new provision and where possible should be linked to housing sites which are coming forward within the plan period. The action plan would prove useful in the determination of planning applications. The action plan would also inform the creation of CIL and a S106 obligations SPD. The Reg 123 should also be informed by Table 47 of the Hastings and Rother Leisure Facilities Strategy which provides a summary of what built sports facility provision is needed in Bexhill, Rye and Battle. This identifies the need for a swimming pool, sports halls, 3 AGPs, indoor tennis courts and a MUGA. Sport England is aware the Council is undergoing a feasibility exercise regarding a new leisure centre in Bexhill.

The IDP also identifies a number of outputs relating to sport. It identifies an undersupply of badminton courts, fitness stations, under supply of pool space and the need for a MUGA. Furthermore it identifies the need for a centralised new leisure centre in Bexhill. All of these sporting outputs are considered important to strategy. The schedule within the IDP advises that these facilities will be funded through developer contributions and by the District Council. With this in mind, it is essential to identify which of these sport provision projects will be funded by CIL and which will be funded by strategic housing allocations or other sites.

The Council will need to think quite strategically and plan effectively for sports infrastructure delivery in the future linking development sites with specific projects to meet identified sporting needs. This will enable the Council to take a proactive approach and ensure the most effective use of planning obligations and CIL together to help deliver this/meet the needs of the population.

The Council planning policy needs to be clear on which developments will be required to:
* Provide onsite sports provision/ payment in kind as part of the development
* Make a financial contribution towards an identified offsite provision - under S106
* Provide a CIL contribution (which will be used to fund major projects set out in the Reg 123 list)