Subject:

Infrastructure Delivery Plan – Refresh 2021

Date of Meeting:

25th November 2021

Report of:

Executive Director – Economy, Environment & Culture

Contact Officer:

Name:

Simon Barrett – Service Development Manager

Tel:

07394 414 472 

 

Email:

Simon.Barrett@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Ward(s) affected:

All

 

FOR GENERAL RELEASE  

 

1.         PURPOSE OF REPORT AND POLICY CONTEXT

 

1.1         The city-wide Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) provides an assessment of the additional infrastructure provision and improvements required to support future development and growth across Brighton & Hove up to 2030. The IDP was originally prepared to indicate infrastructure requirements associated with planned levels of development in the adopted City Plan Part One. The IDP is also now a key supporting document to the Community Infrastructure Levy processes and governance. It helps to inform the charging schedule and identify funding priorities.

 

1.2         The last update to the IDP was undertaken in 2017. It is important that the Infrastructure Delivery Plan is kept up to date. The attached IDP has been refreshed with council services and external partners to reflect the infrastructure needs derived from the city’s planned development, including housing growth, infrastructure investment to support the council’s Carbon Neutral commitments, impacts from the climate emergency and other core programmes.

 

1.3         This report seeks approval of the refreshed IDP and to note that it will be subject to a biennial review to ensure that emerging infrastructure needs are comprehensively captured, reviewed, and addressed through the remaining life of the City Plan to 2030.

 

2.         RECOMMENDATIONS:    

 

2.1         That the committee approves the content of the refreshed Infrastructure Delivery Plan (Appendix A to this report); and

 

2.2         That the committee approves the publication of the IDP on the council’s website subject to any minor alterations (grammatical, spelling or for clarity) to be agreed by the Head of Planning in consultation with the joint Chairs of TECC Committee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.            CONTEXT/ BACKGROUND INFORMATION

 

3.1         An IDP provides an assessment of the key infrastructure requirements that will be needed to support new development in the city over the City Plan period. This includes physical, social, green & blue infrastructure considered necessary to create and maintain sustainable communities.

 

3.2         The council first published an IDP in 2013 to support the preparation and examination of the City Plan Part One. It was subsequently updated in 2017 and now requires a further update to support the council’s CIL processes and to reflect emerging requirements. These include City Plan Part Two (currently under examination) and infrastructure requirements to address aspects of climate change and the council’s carbon neutral programme. It is therefore important that the IDP is updated to identify the infrastructure improvements that will be needed to support these objectives.

 

3.3         The IDP is also necessary to inform the council’s CIL spending decisions. By providing an overview of the city’s infrastructure requirements across the local plan period, the IDP will help the council direct CIL funds in a timely manner to the areas of need. However, it should be noted that the IDP is purely an evidence base document and does not seek to prioritise the infrastructure requirements. It will be the role of the CIL Officer Working Group to make recommendations on the prioritisation of need and allocation of citywide CIL funding. Their recommendations will be subsequently passed to the Policy and Resources Committee for decision.

 

3.4         In June 2021, this committee agreed the governance arrangements for planning the expenditure of the citywide CIL receipts, which established the need for the Officer Working Group formed to make recommendation on projects to, “Review the biennial update of the Infrastructure Delivery Plan to identify projects qualifying for CIL funding prior to submission to P&R Committee for approval;”

 

3.5         This new version of the IDP has been designed to be easier to understand, has a greater focus on costs and funding and clear links to projects which may be seeking CIL funding in the future. It also includes information on the new homes and housing repair programmes to present the total infrastructure requirements across the city.

 

3.6         The IDP is a live document and regular review on a biennial basis is advised to monitor and review ongoing infrastructure requirements in line with planned development needs and developing technologies and measures required to address climate change and the carbon neutral agenda.

 

Emerging Findings

 

3.7         The level of information provided for each of the infrastructure categories in the draft IDP is varied. This reflects the way in which different types of infrastructure are provided and the level of detail that services & infrastructure providers require for their assessments of need. For example, Southern Water has established detailed 50-year plans for ensuring sufficient water supplies are available. However, they are in the consultation phase for their drainage & wastewater plans so no associated infrastructure has been identified at this point.

 

3.8         Continued engagement with services, stakeholders, and infrastructure providers is necessary to align their strategic requirements in the IDP as our understanding of growth evolves. This may mean that infrastructure projects which have not yet been identified, come forward, and we need to ensure our CIL prioritisation can facilitate where appropriate. As the IDP is reviewed and rolled forward, new information can be included.

 

3.9         The emerging needs identified in the IDP include:

 

Blue & Green Networks – Anaerobic digestors, offshore habitat restoration & improvement & improvements to urban and green networks across the city

 

Community Facilities & Heritage – planned community spaces and storage facility to provide resilience for food supplies to the elderly & vulnerable during shortages

 

Cultural Facilities – Create a citywide Public Art Fund and develop a creative workspace/studio facility to support cultural growth & recovery

 

Health – Community health hub at re-developed Brighton General Hospital (NHS)

 

            Open space & parks – Citywide £18M parks investment programme

 

Children’s Play provision - £6M of playground refurbishment & improvements

 

Sports Facilities - £90M investment in 5 new/refurbished sports hubs

 

Seafront – Kingsway to the Sea/West Hove improvement plan

 

Transport – Ultra Low Emission Zone, on street EV charging & seafront bus rapid transport system and measures to mitigate new development

 

Active travel - £21M walking & cycling programme (incl liveable city centre)

 

Energy – Investment in renewable energy infrastructure

 

Water & Sewerage – Desalination plant, catchment schemes and improved pipelines (Southern Water)

 

Flood & Water Management – Expansion of SUDS & rain garden schemes

 

Policing – Accommodation at John St police station for extra officers and staff

 

3.10      A separate section has been included in the IDP to summarise the investment that the city council is planning to make in new and existing council housing. This is subject to a separate funding regime (except for sums secured through S106 in lieu of affordable homes) and does not currently qualify for CIL funding. It has been included for completeness and to illustrate the total level of investment that is required up to 2030 across the city.

 

 

4.            ANALYSIS & CONSIDERATION OF ANY ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

 

4.1         Paragraph 20 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (2021) states that strategic policies should make sufficient provision for:

 

a) housing (including affordable housing), employment, retail, leisure and other commercial development

b) infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, security, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and coastal change management, and the provision of minerals and energy (including heat)

c) community facilities (such as health, education, and cultural infrastructure)

d) conservation and enhancement of the natural, built, and historic environment, including landscapes and green infrastructure, and planning measures to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.

 

4.2         Planning Practice Guidance notes that a Local Plan is an opportunity for the strategic policy-making authority to set out a positive vision for the area, but the Plan should also be realistic about what can be achieved and when. This means paying careful attention to providing an adequate supply of land, identifying what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward.

 

4.3         These options have been considered as part of the City Plan preparation process and in informing the IDP.

 

5.            COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & CONSULTATION

 

5.1         Engagement with infrastructure providers and key partners (Sussex Police, Clinical Commissioning Group/NHS and East Sussex Fire & Rescue) has taken place to inform the preparation of the IDP. As a ‘live’ document, the IDP will continue to be updated to reflect any further changes in their infrastructure requirements as part of the review process.

 

5.2         The City Plan Part One was adopted March 2016 and Part Two is currently undergoing examination by a Planning Inspector. The City Plan has been the subject of extensive consultations over several years.

 

6.         CONCLUSION

 

6.1         The IDP has identified existing and emerging infrastructure needs, which will be refined over time. It is recommended that the Committee supports the re-fresh of the content of the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and agrees to its publication for the purposes of supporting the City Plan and the identification of Community Infrastructure Levy funding priorities.

 

 

 

 

 

7.         FINANCIAL & OTHER IMPLICATIONS:

 

Financial Implications:

 

7.1         The cost of officer time, production of documents and consultation associated with the recommendations in this report are funded from existing revenue budgets within the Planning Service which includes up to 5% of CIL receipts. The financial implications of the delivery of the infrastructure requirements outlined in Appendix A Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) will be included in future committee reports. Each scheme should be separately reported to Policy & Resources Committee for inclusion in the capital programme with details of the costs and sources of financing (including any Citywide CIL funding, when available.)

 

            Finance Officer Consulted:     Jeff Coates                                    Date: 20/10/2021

 

Legal Implications:

 

7.2         Policy CP7 of the City Plan Part One provides for the preparation and implementation of an Infrastructure Delivery Plan which will be regularly updated

and which will set out the infrastructure to be provided in the city. The IDP supports objectives in the Council’s current and emerging development plan policies, which are material in the determination of planning applications.

 

So far as the expenditure of CIL receipts is concerned, Regulation 59 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 provides that a charging authority must apply CIL to funding infrastructure to support the development of its area. Section 216 of the Planning Act 2008 provides that “infrastructure” includes “roads and other transport facilities, flood defences, schools and other educational facilities, medical facilities, sporting and recreational facilities and open spaces.

                                                                   

            Lawyer Consulted:                   Hillary Woodward                         Date: 25/10/2021

 

 

            Equalities Implications:

 

7.3         Maintaining and up to date IDP helps demonstrate the delivery of the City Plan and assists the council and its partners in achieving the timely and effective delivery of infrastructure for future needs of all residents, businesses and visitors in the city.

 

            Sustainability Implications:

 

7.4         The IDP will help to deliver sustainable communities through ensuring that the necessary infrastructure required to serve these communities is identified and reflected in the Local Plan.

 

 

            Corporate / Citywide Implications:

 

7.5       The infrastructure identified in the IDP is aligned with City Council priorities and      strategies and with the delivery of the City Plan.

 

 

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

 

Appendices:

 

 

1.         Infrastructure Delivery Plan – 2021 Refresh.     

 

 

Background Documents

 

1.         City Plan Parts 1 and 2

 

2.         TECC Report June 2021 re CIL Governance