Thurston
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge, introduced by the Planning Act 2008 as a tool for local authorities in England and Wales to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of their area. It came into force on 6 April 2010 through the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010.
CIL is a levy that local authorities can choose to charge on new developments in their area. The money should be used to support development by funding infrastructure that the council, local community and neighbourhoods want.
For background information as to how CIL works please read the Planning Practice Guidance on CIL at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/community-infrastructure-levy
CIL IN MID SUFFOLK
Mid Suffolk District Council has adopted a CIL Charging Schedule which sets out the rate per square metre for charged developments which is payable on commencement of Permitted Development as well as Planning Permission development.
The Babergh and Mid Suffolk Infrastructure Team are responsible for administering the collection of CIL, payments to parish and town councils and district spending.
For an overview as to how CIL operates in Mid Suffolk please use this link to be redirected to the relevant page on the Babergh Mid Suffolk website.
CIL IN THURSTON - NEIGHBOURHOOD CIL
A portion of the CIL received by Mid Suffolk is passed to the parish or town council where development is taking place. This will be 15% without a Neighbourhood Plan in place or 25% if the parish has a Neighbourhood Plan in place. The Thurston Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) was passed at referendum on 12 September 2019.
Thurston Parish Council will need to decide how to spend this part of the levy and will be mindful that it has a duty to spend CIL income on providing, improving, replacing, operating or maintaining infrastructure that supports the development of the parish council area or anything else concerned with addressing the demands that development places on the area. The CIL Regulations 2010 as amended provide for the parish council to spend the CIL income they receive from the District on either:
or
NEIGHBOURHOOD CIL EXPENDITURE IN THURSTON
For details of the Parish Council's adopted CIL Grant Awarding Policy along with details on how to apply for CIL Funding from the CIL Neighbourhood Pot please use the relevant links below:
| CIL GRANT AWARDING POLICY | APPLICATION FORM FOR CIL FUNDING |
Annual Financial Reports on CIL for each parish (or town council) receiving CIL detailing how the money has been spent must be published on the council's own websites. Copies are also submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council and added to their database detailing how all CIL monies have been allocated.
Please view the files below for details of monies received and spent by Thurston Parish Council on behalf of the community of Thurston.
Detailed breakdowns on a monthly basis as to Neighbourhood CIL expenditure incurred and income received can be found in the associated papers submitted for each monthly main meeting.
Use this link to be redirected to the relevant pages>>
PARISH INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT PLAN
With reference to the Thurston NPD and Mid Suffolk's requirements, the Parish Council has produced a Parish Infrastructure Investment Plan (PIIP) which will initially inform the Parish Council’s spending decisions. To view the PIIP adopted by the Parish Council in 2019 and submitted to Mid Suffolk please use this link: Thurston Parish Infrastructure Investment Plan (PIIP).
To enable the Parish Council to review the provision of play and leisure facilities in Thurston, the Council commissioned Ethos Environmental Planning to produce an Open Space and Play Strategy which will inform it in its decision-making process in realtion to open space and lesiure and recreational facilities required for the parish of Thurston. A copy of this report can be found using this link.
The above work builds on from the open space study commissioned by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils. This work has been reviewed and both Districts have updated their Leisure, Sport and Physical Activity (LSPA) Strategy adopted in 2017 and feeds into the Councils Communities Strategy. A link to the Communities Strategy for Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils can be found here. Their Wellbeing Strategy has an overarching vision to: 'build great communities with bright and healthy futures that everyone is proud to call home'. Wellbeing is one of six key overlapping and intertwined priorities to help deliver this vision. Read their Wellbeing Strategy (2021). Their Leisure, Sport and Physcial Activity Strategy has been developed as a result of our strategic review of: existing leisure services; local sports and recreational infrastructur; partnerships across the districts of Babergh and Mid Suffolk. The strategy identifies future needs, trends and opportunities to support an increasing ageing population to lead a more active lifestyle.
In 2023, the Parish Council tasked the Planning Committee to commence a review of the adopted PIIP to ensure that the investment priorities and audit infrastructure were still relevant to the community. The commmittee were also tasked with carrying out a review of the aspirations and needs for comunity infrastrucutre as first identified during the neighbourhood plan process as to whether they were still relevant or required to ensure that the expanding community of Thurston is able to grow without compromise.
Update February 2024 - the parish council has formed a working group to monitor the measures being undertaken to address the demands that development places on the area of Thurston. Specific tasks of the group will be to assess and monitor the approved and identified infrastructure for Thurston including timescales for delivery as well as research and review gaps in infrastructure and the reasoning behind why this has not yet been addressed. This work will assist the parish council with informing the public with measures being undertaken to address community aspirations and will be able to enable public support for its views about infrastructure and the role of the parish council in the development of a safe and sustainable community.
Update September 2024 - this work is ongoing and, once completed, will be submitted to a round of community engagement to ensure that the gaps and / or deficits identified by the infrastructure audit are fully explored and weighted in terms of importance to the community of Thurston.
