Background
The Headington Neighbourhood Plan (the Plan) came into effect after it was voted on by residents in a local referendum on 4 May2017, and subsequently approved by the Council on 29 June 2017. From this date 25% of CIL funds are allocated to the Headington Neighbourhood Forum (HNF) area for community projects.
The trigger for payment of CIL by developers (assessed on the whole development, not just on the housing element) is currently the commencement of the development. Oxford City Council holds the CIL funds and will notify HNF and the relevant Ward Councillors how much has been received.
The amount of CIL money generated depends on the amount and type of development taking place in the area covered by the Plan.
What can CIL funds be spent on?
HNF’s aim is to use CIL funds to deliver community projects in Headington through it’s association with Headington Action (HA), with a particular emphasis on delivering value for money for the community as a whole. These projects will include those designed to meet the objectives of the Plan, as well as projects discussed and agreed with community groups and others in this area.
The neighbourhood portion of the CIL (25% of the total) can be spent on a wider range of things than the rest of the levy, provided it meets the requirement to “support the development of the area” (see regulation 59C of the CIL Regulations for details). This wider definition means that the neighbourhood portion can be spent on things such as funding affordable housing where it would support the development of the area by addressing the demands development places on the area.
Although there are many potential projects which could be supported by CIL funds, there are limited funds. This inevitably means having to make difficult choices. Here are just a few examples of potential projects: Winter lights; flower baskets; equipment for community centres; tree planting; refurbishment of community buildings; and landscaping public spaces.
Further information on criteria against which projects will be evaluated can be found on the application form.
Application Process
Applications should be submitted by one of the following deadlines:
the end of February, June and October by email here .
All applications for funding are to be submitted and processed in accordance with the application timetable and supported by a completed project description.
Projects are checked for compliance with the CIL regulations and minuted by an HNF/HA Joint Projects Group which then passes on applications to the HA Committee which considers applications for funding and, if approved, are forwarded to Oxford City Council with a request for funding from the CIL portion allocated to HNF. The Committee comprises representative of the HNF Steering Committee, the HA Trustees and a large number of Headington residents groups, institutions and councillors.
All decisions by the Joint Projects Group and the HA Committee will be recorded to produce an audit trail and will be published on this webpage. Current and previous applications as well as the decisions can be found at the bottom of this page. If funding is approved the project sponsor will be responsible for monitoring the project expenditure to ensure it complies with the terms of the CIL award and will report the outcome of the monitoring to the City Council in the terms set by the Council.
HNF and HA are committed to ensuring this process is transparent and applicants will be kept informed throughout. Any Joint Projects Group or HA Committee member who has a potential conflict of interest involving a particular application will be excluded from the decision-making process for that application.
Get information on how to prepare an application (Last reviewed 31/03/2022)
Get the application guidance and the application form (pdf) or application form (Word doc) (Last reviewed 25/02/2022)
Applications and Decisions 2023
Applications and Decisions 2022
Applications and Decisions 2021
Applications and Decisions 2020