CIL

The Community Infrastructure Levy was introduced by Government in April 2010, as a new means to collect developer contributions to help fund infrastructure projects. In Greater Norwich we have adopted a unique arrangement. Once the amount for neighbourhood CIL and an administration fee is deducted, the remaining balance is transferred to a ‘shared pool’ called the Infrastructure Investment Fund (IIF).

We then oversee the delivery of a joint growth programme of projects across the whole of Greater Norwich, funded through the IIF. This pooling process simplifies the delivery of cross border projects where the benefits can be realised by residents in multiple districts, whilst also bringing forward the delivery of larger or more complex projects that the individual partners would struggle to achieve alone.

We are the only local authorities in the country voluntarily pooling CIL contributions in this way. This fund has been highly successful, and since 2014 we have allocated approximately £39m of IIF funding. This approach to partnership working has been celebrated by the Planning Advisory Service (PAS), have cited the GNGB as a partnership who are pursuing ambitious growth agendas under strong strategic leadership and cross boundary collaboration. The GNGB also won the partnership working category at the 2020 National Planning Awards, an accolade which celebrates this unique working arrangement.

Four infrastructure types are eligible to apply to the IIF for funding: transport, education, green infrastructure, and community facilities.