On 1 May, a new bidding round will start for local community groups and organisations to apply for funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
The council has at least £1.5m to distribute to infrastructure projects within the district.
The CIL is a charge set by local councils on new development to raise money to help fund infrastructure, facilities and services needed to support new homes and businesses.
CIL is applied to new residential and retail developments over 100 square metres, unless subject to exemptions as set out in the CIL Policy.
Tandridge District Council collects the levy and distributes it to projects within the district. This is done via a bidding process when applicants from the district can make their case to be awarded funds for specific improvements.
The bids are initially assessed by council officers before going before a working group of councillors to make the final decision. The working group is made up of councillors from around the district to ensure overall balance in the distribution of the money.
The CIL working group recommendations are presented to the Planning Policy Committee for final approval.
The first step for anyone wanting to bid for funding for a project is to complete an expression of interest (EOI) form. The EOI will be available on our website from Monday, 7 April. The closing date for EOI submissions is Wednesday, 21 May. The timetable is:
- 31 May – Validation of expressions of interest.
- 28 June – Complete application form and submit business case.
- 21 July – Deadline for applications.
- 15 August – CIL Working Group considers applications.
- 18 September – Planning Policy Committee allocates the funds.
To give an idea of the sort of projects that have been allocated funding, either in full or in part, the last bidding round concluded with allocations approved in November 2023. They were:
- Queens Park, Caterham, improvements: £1,394,000
- Station Avenue, Caterham, improvements: £927,375
- Lingfield Sports Association, drainage system: £211,562
- Hurst Green Community Centre renovation: £120,000
- St Mary’s School, Oxted, swimming pool upgrade: £100,000
- Felbridge Parish Council, playground upgrade: £71,600
- Oxted Business Improvement District, improved signage: £39,364
More details about the CIL bidding process can be found here: tandridge.gov.uk/cil.
If you have any comments/questions, please get in touch: Cllr.Catherine.Sayer@tandridge.gov.uk.
