DECISION

1.            Subject to the amendment tabled, to approve the Tower Hamlets Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Revised Draft Charging Schedule (Appendix 1 of this report) for a 6 week public consultation.

2.            To note the Summary of Consultation Responses October 2013 Report attached at Appendix 2.

3.            To note the Infrastructure Planning and Funding Gap Report attached at Appendix 3, as amended. This document explains the infrastructure planning criteria Tower Hamlets must meet in order to implement a CIL Charging Schedule.

4.            To note BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Viability Study that forms part of the supporting evidence for the Draft Charging Schedule.

5.            To authorise the Corporate Director of Development and Renewal to make any minor modifications to the Revised Draft Charging Schedule following the public consultation and to submit the Revised Draft Charging Schedule, the representations made and evidence base together with any proposed modifications to the Planning Inspectorate for public examination.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT AND RENEWAL (A. DALVI)

(Service Head, Planning and Building Control (O. Whalley)

Councillor Rabina Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, introduced the report. She highlighted the opportunity this provided to ensure developers helped to improve the facilities available in the borough and she also reported on the results of the consultation exercise that had taken place.

Two updates to the report were tabled at the meeting as follows:

Amendment 1: Inclusion of explicit definition of convenience retail.

The following definition is proposed to be included in the Revised Draft

Charging Schedule (page 2 - s5.3):

Superstores/supermarkets are defined as shopping destinations in their

own right where weekly food shopping needs are met and which can

also include non-food floorspace as part of the overall mix of the unit.

Retail warehousing is defined as shopping destinations specialising in

the sale of household goods (such as carpets, furniture and electrical

goods), DIY items and other ranges of goods, catering for a significant

proportion of car-borne customers.

Amendment 2: Amend the Infrastructure Planning and Funding Gap Report

to clarify the impact of Wood Wharf in a CIL context.

The following clarification is proposed to be included in the

Infrastructure Planning and Funding Gap Report (Page 10 - s2.11 and

2.12, Pages 17 and 19 - Appendices B and C):

The projected CIL receipt for Wood Wharf of £56,738,487 would increase

the CIL projections figure from £148,277,130 to £205,015,617 and reduce

the funding gap from £228,950,000 to £172,211,513.

Following discussion around how the Council would work to ensure maximum benefits were realised and how the charging rates were calculated, the Mayor welcomed the report and the benefits it could bring to the community and agreed the amendments and the recommendations set out in the report.

RESOLVED

1.            Subject to the amendment tabled, to approve the Tower Hamlets Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Revised Draft Charging Schedule (Appendix 1 of this report) for a 6 week public consultation.

2.            To note the Summary of Consultation Responses October 2013 Report attached at Appendix 2.

3.            To note the Infrastructure Planning and Funding Gap Report attached at Appendix 3, as amended. This document explains the infrastructure planning criteria Tower Hamlets must meet in order to implement a CIL Charging Schedule.

4.            To note BNP Paribas Real Estate’s Viability Study that forms part of the supporting evidence for the Draft Charging Schedule.

5.            To authorise the Corporate Director of Development and Renewal to make any minor modifications to the Revised Draft Charging Schedule following the public consultation and to submit the Revised Draft Charging Schedule, the representations made and evidence base together with any proposed modifications to the Planning Inspectorate for public examination.