Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Adults, Housing and Health. To be presented by the Cabinet Member for Housing & Planning (Deputy Leader).

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST RELATING TO THIS ITEM:

None

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Noted all the responses received regarding the consultation on spending the Round?2 Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy, as set out in Appendix?A to the report.

2.    Approved the spending of Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy on the Round?2 projects listed in Table?3 of the report.

Reasons for decision

The collection and spending of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), including Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL), was governed by the Planning Act?2008 and associated Regulations. Government guidance on CIL and NCIL was also provided through Planning Practice Guidance (PPG).

The Regulations enabled the Council to set aside 15% of CIL receipts (25% in areas with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan) to support the development of the relevant area by funding either:

(a) the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure; or
(b) anything else concerned with addressing the demands that development placed on an area.

This portion of CIL was known as NCIL.

The Council’s adopted approach to spending NCIL, set out in its CIL Governance document (2020), provided that NCIL should be spent on neighbourhood projects, and that the neighbourhood proportion of CIL receipts collected across the borough would be pooled (except in Neighbourhood Forum Areas). The Governance document further established that the borough would be divided into nine NCIL areas, each requiring consultation, and that the Council would then determine spending based on the project lists for each area, taking consultation feedback into account.

The Council conducted consultation in December?2025 and January?2026 to identify the NCIL spending priorities for the nine NCIL areas. Consultation feedback and suggested projects were reviewed, and a proposed package of locally supported projects was developed, consistent with the Haringey Deal and subject to spending approval. These proposals were compatible with the Regulations and the CIL Governance criteria, aligned with the Haringey Vision?2035, and were agreed with relevant service delivery areas within the Council.

The governance process for identifying projects in Neighbourhood Forum Areas differed slightly. Projects within the borough’s two Forum Areas were informed by consultation with the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum and the Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum, with due regard given to the same considerations applied elsewhere.

Alternative options considered:

Not spending NCIL consistent with community priorities
This option was dismissed. The Council’s CIL Governance document committed the authority to identifying NCIL spending priorities through consultation with local communities and to implementing them. The Round?2 consultation generated over 2,700 responses and produced a broad range of appropriate project types and priorities for potential NCIL expenditure.

Delaying allocation of NCIL
This option was also dismissed. Most projects funded under NCIL Round?1 had been delivered, and further funding was available for investment in new and improved infrastructure across Haringey.

The Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, and Deputy Leader of the Council introduced the report.

It was explained by the Cabinet member that the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) was a charge on developers based on the floorspace of new buildings to help fund infrastructure needs arising from development. Legislation allowed 15% to 25% of CIL collected to be spent in neighbourhoods on infrastructure that addressed demands created by development. This was referred to as Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL).

In 2020 the Council approved £2.2m in spending on 41 Round 1 NCIL projects. Most of these were delivered and contributed to new and improved local infrastructure in Haringey, including:

• The Rising Green Youth Hub in Wood Green
• Investments in Springfield Park, Bruce Castle Park, Hartington Park, Woodside Parks, and the tennis courts in Downhills Park
• A new pedestrian crossing at the junction of The Roundway and Lordship Lane
• Thirteen bike hangars as part of a wider programme installing on-street bike hangars on residential streets in Haringey, with over 200 delivered to meet demand for secure residential cycle parking
• Thirteen re-deployable CCTV cameras to support the capture and deterrence of crimes such as fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour, located in areas where such incidents were known to occur regularly
• Fourteen on-street waste containment schemes to maintain cleanliness on busy streets
  
  

The report set out recommendations for the spending of a further £1.73m of NCIL on Round 2 projects. The projects were intended to deliver local improvements to ensure neighbourhoods received benefits associated with new development in their area.

Feedback from residents indicated a preference for increased investment in trees, parks, green spaces, and public realm. The selected projects were informed by community consultation on NCIL spending and reflected the Council’s commitment to resident involvement in local decision?making. The projects included proposals from residents and community groups, as well as initiatives aligned with identified community priorities for neighbourhood investment. These priorities were:

• Tree planting and green spaces
• Street and kerbside improvements
• Play spaces and facilities
• Community safety measures
• Cultural facilities
• Cycling facilities
• Traffic calming measures
• School grounds and buildings
  
  

Based on these priorities, it was explained that the following projects were funded in Round 2.

Tree planting and green spaces:

• Tree planting and environmental improvements in St Ann’s
• Parklet in the Pembury Road area
• Tottenham Green Streets tree planting
• Brunswick Park enhancement
• Greening in Highgate
• Crouch End Open Space improvements
• Belmont Recreation Ground sustainable urban drainage
  
  

Street and kerbside improvements:

• Parklet in the Pembury Road area
• Queen’s Wood footpath improvements
• Parkland Walk footpath improvements between Stapleton Hall Road and the Finsbury Park entrance
• Reconstruction of Park View Road footway
• White Hart Lane benches
• Crouch End town centre and urban realm improvements
  
  

Play spaces and facilities:

• Alexandra Park play improvements
• Finsbury Gardens playground improvements
• Tower Gardens play area
• Broadwater Farm Manston and Lympne play improvements
• Bruce Castle MUGA (all?weather sports pitch)
  
  

Community safety measures:

• Wood Green lighting improvements
  
  

Cultural facilities:

• Green Lanes festival as part of London Borough of Culture
• London Borough of Culture ward murals

Following questions from Councillor Cawley-Harrison, the following information was shared:

• It was noted by the Cabinet Member that the criteria for utilisation NCIL were outlined in the report in the CIL governance. It was explained by officers that the Council undertook an open-minded consultation on general themes and specific projects, which had been captured within the report, which it was stressed would be taken into consideration as part of the decision-making process.
  
  
• Officers explained that the Council would undertake consultation work with residents on the themes and projects desired by the community, and review the possibility to utilise NCIL on specific projects suggested by residents.
  
  
• It was explained that the Council aimed to work with communities and would look to commission local artists to develop murals across the borough, and there would be work undertaken to work with the community to develop the murals, which would be intended to provide a legacy for the Borough of Culture work. It was stressed by officers that the London Borough of Culture work would be a small part of the overall NCIL proposals. It was additionally noted that the murals were aimed to create a legacy for the community from the Borough of Culture work.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet:

1.    Noted all the responses received regarding the consultation on spending the Round?2 Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy, as set out in Appendix?A to the report.

2.    Approved the spending of Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy on the Round?2 projects listed in Table?3 of the report.

Reasons for decision

The collection and spending of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), including Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL), was governed by the Planning Act?2008 and associated Regulations. Government guidance on CIL and NCIL was also provided through Planning Practice Guidance (PPG).

The Regulations enabled the Council to set aside 15% of CIL receipts (25% in areas with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan) to support the development of the relevant area by funding either:

(a) the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure; or
(b) anything else concerned with addressing the demands that development placed on an area.

This portion of CIL was known as NCIL.

The Council’s adopted approach to spending NCIL, set out in its CIL Governance document (2020), provided that NCIL should be spent on neighbourhood projects, and that the neighbourhood proportion of CIL receipts collected across the borough would be pooled (except in Neighbourhood Forum Areas). The Governance document further established that the borough would be divided into nine NCIL areas, each requiring consultation, and that the Council would then determine spending based on the project lists for each area, taking consultation feedback into account.

The Council conducted consultation in December?2025 and January?2026 to identify the NCIL spending priorities for the nine NCIL areas. Consultation feedback and suggested projects were reviewed, and a proposed package of locally supported projects was developed, consistent with the Haringey Deal and subject to spending approval. These proposals were compatible with the Regulations and the CIL Governance criteria, aligned with the Haringey Vision?2035, and were agreed with relevant service delivery areas within the Council.

The governance process for identifying projects in Neighbourhood Forum Areas differed slightly. Projects within the borough’s two Forum Areas were informed by consultation with the Highgate Neighbourhood Forum and the Crouch End Neighbourhood Forum, with due regard given to the same considerations applied elsewhere.

Alternative options considered:

Not spending NCIL consistent with community priorities
This option was dismissed. The Council’s CIL Governance document committed the authority to identifying NCIL spending priorities through consultation with local communities and to implementing them. The Round?2 consultation generated over 2,700 responses and produced a broad range of appropriate project types and priorities for potential NCIL expenditure.

Delaying allocation of NCIL
This option was also dismissed. Most projects funded under NCIL Round?1 had been delivered, and further funding was available for investment in new and improved infrastructure across Haringey.