Agenda item

The report seeks to allocate a total of £632,282 of CIL funding to local infrastructure projects to support growth in Three Rivers.

The report considered an allocation of a total of £632,282 of CIL funding to local infrastructure projects to support growth in Three Rivers. This was presented and summarised by the Head of Regulatory Services. The two projects on EV charging points and the canal towpath had already been identified by internal departments. These reports were brought to the Committee to consider if it would be appropriate to spend CIL money on these specific projects.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 35 a member of the public spoke on the application on EV charging points.

A Member raised concerns about the location of one of the charging points. The Chair responded that the locations were not specific but in the area identified and the final decision about where they would be placed would be part of the project.

A Member wanted to ascertain if there had been public money available to support the project, was there a blanket ban from Hertfordshire County Council regarding on street EV charging points and would Sarratt be considered as an area to place a charging point.

The Chair advised that the project was a starting point so these were not the only areas that would have this facility. The Head of Regulatory Services further added that this project started originally as a Retail Parade Refurbishment project. With regards to Hertfordshire County Council a County-wide EV charging point Strategy was awaited specifically with regard to residential charging points but this specific TRDC project related to charging points aimed at visitors. The sites would be based in District car parks, all on TRDC owned land. There have been changes in the funding process.

Councils have historically provided EV charging points on a voluntary basis often using On-street Residential Chargepoint funding which is aimed at points in residential areas.

In 2020 the Government set timescales for all new vehicles to be non-fossil fuelled by 2035 and as of 2023/24, it would provide national grant funding for rapid points, following a pilot that started this year, for which this project could be eligible. The reason the CIL funding was requested was to progress the project at an earlier date to ensure a speedy delivery of rapid charge points in District shopping centres to support the local economy as it recovered from the pandemic. Six main centres would be initial sites and could be expanded in the future. The sites needed to be investigated in more detail, the agreement would allow the Council to get a supplier on board to carry out the detailed investigation and now included lamppost column charging in car parks.

A Member pointed out that there would need to be criteria for approving the EV charging points as there were likely to be more applications than funding to cover them all. The Member also asked regarding the Grand Union canal and the section between the canal centre and the Aquadrome that required enhancement. The Head of Regulatory Services advised that a feasibility study had already been carried out on this area of the GUC.

A Member wanted to know if there was external funding available for EV charging on street or off street. The Chair advised that if there was funding available we would apply for it.

With regards to the tow path project a Member wanted to know what the Council’s responsibility was to the tow path system in this country. The Chair advised that the Council held no responsibility for this.

These projects were taken as two separate votes:

On being put to the Committee the EV Charging Points project was declared CARRIED with the vote being unanimous.

On being put to the Committee the Grand Union Towpath upgrade was declared CARRIED with the vote being unanimous.

RECOMMEND:

CIL funding for the following schemes detailed in Table 1 of this report and summarised in the table below for 2022/2023:

Any request for additional monies for these specific projects is delegated to the Director of Community and Environmental Services, in consultation with the Lead Member, to determine having regard to the economic context and timescales for implementation.