Haslemere Town Council will soon be sitting on a treasure chest of more than £126,000 community infrastructure levy (CIL) cash to spend on projects in the area.

Since Waverley Borough Council adopted the CIL scheme in late-2018, the town council has received £161,024 in contributions from major developments in the town area to spend on local infrastructure projects.

It has spent or committed £110,539 of this – including a £5,000 contribution to the Hindhead Playing Field pavilion redevelopment and £30,000 for the Lion Green public toilets in the last financial year – leaving £50,485 left to be allocated.

But in April, the town council’s coffers will be boosted with a further £76,000 in CIL cash, swelling its CIL pot to the tune of £126,485.

At last night's (Thursday's) town council meeting, members signed off £50,000 of this CIL cash for new playground equipment at Town Meadow.

But much of the remaining £76,485 is currently unallocated.

The community infrastructure levy (CIL) is a charge applied to most new developments, or those that increase the footprint of existing dwellings, and is collected by Waverley Borough Council.

A proportion of CIL income is passed to the community where the CIL is raised, with 70 to 80 per cent being kept by Waverley Borough Council for infrastructure projects, 15 per cent being allocated as Neighbourhood CIL for towns and parishes or 25 per cent when a Neighbourhood Plan has been made – such as Haslemere – and five per cent being retained by Waverley Borough Council for administration.

The Neighbourhood CIL is paid out twice a year and must be spent within five years. It can be spent on infrastructure provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance and addressing the demands that development places on an area.

However, it cannot be spent on certain items such as fireworks, carnivals, and Christmas lighting.

One such project expected to go ahead with CIL funding in 2023/24 is a £50,000 improvement to the playground equipment at Town Meadow.

The town council’s budget working group is confident this project is eligible for CIL funding, and it has been included in Haslemere’s budget for the next financial year with the caveat that it must be funded by CIL cash.

The town council has a CIL working party in place to consider project ideas from local residents and council committees. Find a CIL guide at https://haslemeretc.org/cil-funding/

Any groups or individuals with a proposal for the town council’s CIL committee to consider should email the deputy town clerk at [email protected]