Council leader Ray Morgon addressing the council during a debate on Wednesday, 20th November. (Credit: Havering Council webcast)
(Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Sebastian Mann)
The town hall has accrued £8.205million in community infrastructure levy (CIL) since 2019, which can be spent on new developments across the borough.
CIL is levied by local authorities from landowners, within 60 days of work on a new project starting. The funds can be used to pay for new roads, health centres, leisure facilities or parks.
Councillor Graham Wilkinson, cabinet member for regeneration, said £1.146m had been spent over the past five years.
Of the remaining cash, £3.513m has been allocated for infrastructure projects. A further £3.076m is left over.
Havering Council is forecasting a budget deficit of £75m next year, which it has blamed on poor funding from central government and the rising cost of housing and social care.
As a result, it has explored closing libraries in the borough and selling public land to homebuilders to close the gap.
Responding to a question from councillor John Tyler at last night’s council meeting (20th November), Cllr Wilkinson said the money would be spent on projects “across the borough”.
CIL can only be levied once building work has formally begun. Developers have a three-year window from planning permission being granted to start work.
Cllr Wilkinson said it was “not possible to accurately forecast CIL” as a result, but the council was currently awaiting £485,000 in payments.
Later in the meeting, councillors across the chamber debated the Labour government’s withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance.
The scheme will become means-tested, and an estimated 10m pensioners will lose the £300 boost to help heat their homes.
The Conservatives had called on the council to condemn the “socialist” government’s “Scrooge-like” plan to cut funding for pensioners.
Keith Prince, leader of the Havering Conservatives, said more than 38,000 people in Havering would be affected, citing figures from the Daily Mirror.
Fellow Tory David Taylor called on the eight Labour councillors to lobby their own party to reverse course “for the sake of Havering’s residents”.
The topic of debate was criticised by Havering Residents Association (HRA) councillors, who control the town hall as a minority administration.
Council leader Ray Morgon said the motion was not entirely relevant, adding: “This is not a policy that was instigated by the council and therefore you’re not holding us to account. You’re just playing national politics.”
He said: “I certainly understand and appreciate there will be many residents in Havering who will be disappointed by the decision of the current government.
“But, we do not have the financial means to be directly helping and supporting those residents.”
He said he “hoped” the government would provide “appropriate funding” for certain schemes, and the council would signpost residents to government programmes.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has also extended the Household Support Fund until next March, which offers short-term financial help for vulnerable residents.
Labour group leader Keith Darvill said the debate went against an agreement from 2015 that “motions such as this would not be debated”.
He added: “This is not a matter that can be controlled by this council. You are using it purely for political reasons.”
He said the council should instead focus on funding cuts from central government, which happened under the previous Tory rule.
Cllr Morgon added that the debate had been “probably one of the less interesting” held in the chamber and the council “did not want to get into the minefield of national politics”.
Cllr Prince called his remarks “a little disappointing” and said the council “would have to pick up the pieces”.
