Cabinet, at its meeting on 13 March 2024, will consider a report from the Head of Planning and Regulatory Services seeking authority for the award of Discretionary Exceptional Circumstances Relief (DECR) for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) in respect of a development. Cllr Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Healthier Communities, David Butler, Head of Planning and Regulatory Services and Lorraine Freeman, CIL, Data Analysis and Reporting Team Leader, have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cllr Douglas joined the meeting.

David Butler, Head of Planning and Regulatory Services introduced the report which sought Cabinet approval to award Discretionary Exceptional Circumstances Relief (DECR) for the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charge on the BMW Mini Plant for a total sum of £832,421.  He highlighted that the BMW Cowley Plant was the successful recipient of a Government grant to enable the plant to prepare for the sole production of the new electric Mini models.  He advised that whilst the DECR Policy was introduced by Oxford City Council in 2019, this was the first application received.

Lorraine Freeman, CIL, Data Analysis and Reporting Team Leader, and Lan Nguyen, Senior Data Analyst, also attended the meeting to speak to the item and answer the Committee’s questions.

During discussion, the Committee noted the following:

·       The project was in a viability deficit regardless of whether or not DECR was granted.

·       The risk register at Appendix 2 detailed the likely impact of the Council not awarding DECR for this application.

·       The application was judged to be appropriate and eligible in line with the DECR Policy.

·       Conversations were ongoing with BMW in relation to the need for investment in public electric vehicle infrastructure in Oxford.

·       Other local authorities had granted DECR, however officers did not have any specific examples to hand.

·       The option to submit an application for DECR was open to anyone; all applications would be judged on merit, with a very strict framework around awarding DECR.

·       Any CIL funding from the development would have been spent on infrastructure generally across the city, as CIL monies went into a single pot that was not application specific. CIL money was not allocated to projects until there was a high degree of certainty that CIL would be received by the Council.

·       The project would not increase the number of jobs at the Cowley Plant, it was more around sustaining the life of BMW/Mini as an employer in Oxford.

·       There was no option to grant a partial CIL exemption, the Council was required to either grant DECR or not.

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendation on the report to Cabinet:

1.    That the Cabinet, in the making of its decision, has regard to the relative insignificance of the value of the proposed CIL exemption compared to the overall project viability gap and thus the limited impact that the CIL exemption, if agreed, would have on influencing and/or changing the behaviour or intentions of BMW.

2. That the Cabinet, in the making of its decision, has regard to the existence of other entities that are able to provide subsidies of a similar scale, in particular Central Government.
3. That the Council, should the CIL exemption be approved by Cabinet, asks BMW to provide a statement setting out how it will mitigate the impact of the development without the use of CIL monies.

David Butler, Head of Planning and Regulatory Services, Lorraine Freeman, CIL, Data Analysis and Reporting Team Leader and Lan Nguyen, Senior Data Analyst left the meeting and did not return.