Agenda item

Questions on matters relating to the work of the committee

Minutes:

Information was provided as follows in response to questions concerning the current position of the carbon offsetting funds received on implementation of planning permission and a perceived lack of transparency on this issue.

 

What sums are currently held and what sums are expected in the next three to five years? 

The figure in terms of what has been received to date shifts all the time but is upwards of £1.5m.

 

Payments for carbon offsetting are made on completion of development (unlike other planning obligations). From schemes that have been approved but not yet completed, we expect to see further income of upwards of £10m in the coming years (assuming these schemes get built out).

 

How have these funds been allocated over the last 3-5 years and what is the mechanism for determining where they have been or will be spent. 

The City Surveyor’s Department have responsibility for identifying energy efficiency and carbon reduction projects for allocation of funds and these are agreed by the Resource Allocation Sub-Committee and Projects and Procurement Sub-Committee.

 

Roughly £3m of funding has been allocated to projects, including:

  • Lighting and ventilation upgrades to Tower Hill Coach & Car Park
  • Site optimisation for buildings connected to Citigen
  • Capital delivery at Golden Lane Leisure Centre, City of London Boy’s School and City of London Girl’s School

 

Is a regular report on these sums provided to this committee or elsewhere? Should the information be readily available? 

Although the Committee does not currently receive a regular report, a snapshot of the situation to date will be provided to this Committee in the New Year.  For the future, the information will be incorporated into the annual Infrastructure Funding Statement report, submitted to this committee towards the end of each calendar year.  This will include details of CIL income and how this has been allocated.

 

Should an uplift to the charge be considered?

This is being considered this through ongoing work on the Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which is being informed by detailed assessment.