Agenda and minutes

Minutes of a meeting of the Cabinet CIL Committee held at 4:00pm on Monday 21 February 2022. 

Members Present: Cllr Matthew Green (Chairman), Cllr James Spencer and Cllr Paul Swaddle 

Also Present: Daniella Bonfanti, Cabinet Manager; Patrick Ryan, Portfolio Advisor; Ezra Wallace, Director of Policy and Projects; Alex Csicsek, Principal Policy Officer. 

1.                     DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS 

There were no interests declared. 

2.               MINUTES 

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2021 were approved. 

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3.               FITZROVIA WEST PLANTERS 

The Fitzrovia West Forum is seeking an allocation of £32,797 to deliver a project that includes the placing and planting of twelve planters at six locations at and around the junctions between New Cavendish Street and Gosfield Street, Great Titchfield Street and Hanson Street and towards the north end of Gosfield Street. This is supported by the neighbourhood forum.  

Cllr Spencer and Cllr Swaddle both agreed on the provision. Cllr Green supported this project in principle, though mentioned that the planters must be properly maintained and kept at a high standard.  

Cllr Green requested that an update be given in 6 months to a year on the planters. He also requested that a maintenance plan needs to be presented and approved by Westminster City Council before the project can start. 

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CONSULTANT FOR ST JAMES AND MARYLEBONE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 

The St James’ Neighbourhood Forum is asking for £18,150 from their local CIL portion to procure a planning consultant to lead on building the evidence base to support the development of their neighbourhood plan. In addition, the Marylebone Neighbourhood Forum is asking for £54,000 from their local CIL portion to procure a planning consultant to lead on building the evidence base to support the development of their neighbourhood plan. 

Cllr Green supported the plans, however, asked why the Marylebone neighbourhood plan cost significantly more that the St James neighbourhood plan. Consultation with policy officers as well as neighbourhood forums had taken place. The difference in cost is about the sizes and complexities of the spaces. The Marylebone evidence base requires three times the amount of work, as it’s more complex. 

Cllr Green requested that benchmarking on the amount of money given to neighbourhood forums takes place. 

This was approved by the committee. 

5.              PROPOSALS FOR FUNDING FROM POOLED SECTION 106 CONTRIBUTIONS 

There had been two bids seeking s106 funding from pooled Carbon Offset Contributions: 

Community Energy Fund: 

The project will deliver energy efficiency improvements to community buildings in Westminster. To deliver a key commitment in the council’s Climate Action Plan, the council’s Climate Emergency Team is seeking an allocation of £1m from the carbon offset fund. 

The committee asked about the application process. Alex Csicsek advised that the Climate Emergency team would handle the process. When the applicant approaches the team, they should have eligible buildings in mind. If not, the team could help to identify these. An assessment of suitable measures would be taken, and then the cost  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.