Community Infrastructure Levy bidding and spending
If you have any queries regarding CIL please contact us on the following:
[email protected] for Lewes related CIL enquiries
[email protected] for Eastbourne related CIL enquiries
CIL Spending
CIL can be used to fund projects which address the demands resulting from development in Lewes District and could include:
- Green infrastructure such as tree planting
- Works to buildings for community groups
- Equipment and facilities for community groups
- Sporting equipment
- Improvements to playgrounds
- Improvements to utility provision
Bidding for the Local Pot is currently open. Bidding for the Community Pot and Community Small Projects Pot will likely open later this year or early 2027.
The CIL Local Pot is for Town and Parish Councils to make a bid for matched funding towards project in their area. The CIL Community Pot is for Community Groups to apply for funding towards community infrastructure in their local area. The CIL Community Small Project Pot is for Community Groups to apply for matched funding up to £5000 for their projects that provide infrastructure resulting from development in their area.
The CIL Strategic Pot will be opening this Autumn and further details will be added here when dates are confirmed.
For Eastbourne matters or to be added to our mailing list please email:
For Lewes matters or to be added to our mailing list please email:
CIL and S106 Annual Reporting
Lewes and Eastbourne will publish an annual report by the 31st December each year which includes the total receipts and expenditure for the financial year, and a summary of the items of infrastructure to which CIL has been applied. Until 2019, details of CIL monitoring have been published in both Eastbourne and Lewes Councils' Authority Monitoring Report. From 2020, both Councils are required to prepare an annual Infrastructure Funding Statement to include:
- the Infrastructure List: a statement of the infrastructure projects or type of infrastructure which may be wholly or partly funded by CIL. This will replace the Regulation 123 list.
- the CIL Report
- the Section 106 Report
The two authorities have different governance arrangements for how the CIL Revenue is distributed, as shown below, and subsequently spent. This is partly due to the fact that Lewes is fully parished, where Eastbourne does not have any parishes.
The CIL Revenue for Lewes is apportioned twice. Firstly 15% (or 25% with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan) is passed to the relevant parish or town council. 5% is set aside for the purpose of administering the implementation of CIL. Secondly, the remaining CIL Revenue is broken down into three different pots:
- 70% to the strategic pot;
- 20% to the local pot primarily for towns and parishes to deliver their local projects; and
- 10% to the community pot, of which 1% is allocated to small projects
The CIL Revenue for Eastbourne is distributed into three separate funds:
- 5% to an administration fund;
- 15% to a neighbourhood fund; and
- 80% to a county council and other infrastructure providers fund.
Currently there are not sufficient funds held by Eastbourne Borough Council which justify opening the pots for spending. However, this will be monitored regularly and an update to the website will be made once a decision has been made to open an Expression of Interest Round for Eastbourne CIL.
We have produced a variety of CIL Bidding and Spending guidance documents to help you understand the process and framework for how CIL funding will be governed, which can be found below in the Downloads section. The Downloads section also provides Neighbourhood CIL Reports from Town and Parish Councils that received the neighbourhood portion of CIL.
