Dartford’s Neighbourhood CIL Fund
Are you a local group in the north/west of the Borough?
Do you have a community project that you could complete if you received additional funding?
If the answer is yes, you should read on to find out more about Dartford’s Neighbourhood CIL Fund and how this might help.
The Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a financial charge on development, came into effect in 2014. Since then a proportion (15%) of the CIL receipts collected from development within the unparished part of the Borough has been retained to support improvements to facilities or services run by the community in these areas.
Last year the Council allocated £500,000 of CIL funding to six projects, ranging from £6,000 to £430,000. The projects included the enhancement of open spaces and the improvement of walking and cycling facilities. The funding was instrumental, for instance, in restoring and refurbishing the existing Temple Hill Youth Centre to make it a safe and suitable environment primarily as a weightlifting centre but also providing enhanced facilities for youth club and community activities.
What area does it cover?
Groups and projects should be located in and around the wider Dartford town area covering most of the communities to the west of (inside) the London Oribtal route and north of the A2. Specifically; the Fund covers the Dartford Council wards of Brent, Bridge, Burnham, Heath, Joydens Wood (part), Maypole & Leyton Cross (part), Newtown, Princes (part), Temple Hill, Town and West Hill. The area treated as a single entity for the purpose of CIL funding of projects.
Please note that Dartford’s Neighbourhood CIL Fund is not available for the following areas:
- In the Ebbsfleet unparished area. This is as, so far, no development within this area has made financial contributions through CIL. When this does occur the neighbourhood portion of CIL receipts will be dealt with separately to the unparished area described above. (The Ebbsfleet Development Corporation provides further community information via https://ebbsfleetgardencity.org.uk/your-community/ )
- In areas of the Borough covered by a town or parish council (Bean PC, Darenth PC, Longfield & New Barn PC, Southfleet PC, Stone PC, Sutton-at-Hone & Hawley PC, Swanscombe & Greenhithe TC and Wilmington PC). Different arrangements apply here, with the CIL neighbourhood portion generated by development in these areas passed to the town or parish council who are then responsible for its expenditure.
Who can apply?
Applicants should be ready to commit to seeing through the delivery of the project they are putting forward for funding. The applicant should be:
- A community or neighbourhood group which adheres to the Council’s terms and conditions for the award of grants. Organisations must, therefore, have a constitution, a management structure and appropriate financial governance in place. Or
- A charitable or not for profit organisation that can demonstrate the proposed project has the support of the local community and the Borough Ward Councillor or Councillors.
Where appropriate, Borough Council service departments and infrastructure service providers external to the Council may receive funding for applicable projects - if demonstrating they meet additional infrastructure needs that would not normally be covered through mainstream provisions.
What requirements are there?
CIL funding must be applied to the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure to support the development of its area. The primary purpose of proposed projects should, therefore, relate to local/social ‘infrastructure’ that supports the overall development of the area and addresses the demands that development places on the area. Projects can include:
- cultural/sports facilities,
- neighbourhood/community facilities,
- parks, play areas and open/green spaces,
- walking/cycling routes and facilities,
- public transport/highway upgrades,
- riverside enhancement/flood risk management, and
- local educational/health/care services.
Dartford’s Neighbourhood CIL Fund is focused more on smaller scale projects. (Applicants with larger more strategic projects can apply for funding support from the CIL receipts that the Council has retained for this purpose). For all projects seeking CIL funding support:
- It is expected that CIL funding would usually not fully fund the project. It is anticipated that CIL would be used to support other sources of funding.
- An Applicant will need to be clear how it is intended to build/run/complete the project, with certainty about who is taking responsibility for getting it delivered.
- Criteria will be applied testing the legal eligibility of each project and for funding prioritisation between projects.
A Factsheet provides further information on the types of project that would be eligible for funding support from Dartford’s Neighbourhood CIL Fund, who can apply and the criteria used to assess each project.
Tell us about completing your community project with the help of the Neighbourhood CIL Fund.
If you wish to submit an expression of interest for future funding of a project consistent with these critiera, please ensure you have read through the Factsheet via the above link. Then if you think that your project may be eligible please provide more details by submitting a completed Expression of Interest Form. If you would like a word version of this form emailed to you please contact 01322 343213 or email locaplan@dartford.gov.uk