Community Infrastructure Levy bidding and spending

If you have any queries regarding CIL please contact us on the following:

CIL.Lewes@Lewes-Eastbourne.gov.uk for Lewes related CIL enquiries

CIL@Lewes-Eastbourne.gov.uk for Eastbourne related CIL enquiries

Grant applications opening soon for Community Infrastructure Levy projects

We are inviting bids from community organisations and groups for match-funded grants from our CIL Community Pot.

The funding is available through the Community Portion of the Community Infrastructure Levy, which collects funds from developments within Lewes District outside of the South Downs National Park.

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

Lewes District Council is inviting Expressions of Interest from Community Infrastructure Providers up until the 31 May. This will be followed by an invitation to those eligible to submit a full CIL bid during the month of June.

The closing date for Expressions of Interest is 10pm on Saturday 31 May 2025.

Online Q&A - Tuesday and Wednesday 13 and 14 May 2025

We will hold an online drop-in Q&A session on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 May from 10am-12pm on Microsoft Teams. This will be a chance to answer any queries and assist with completion of the bidding form. 

How to apply

Download the Expression of Interest (EOI) form and full Bidding form below. Submit a copy by email to: CIL.Lewes@Lewes-Eastbourne.gov.uk

Please note: Community Infrastructure Levy can only be used for projects that address the demands of new development on the area and cannot be used to fund business-as-usual services.

How to apply

For more details on CIL and to download the bidding form, please visit 
www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/community-infrastructure-levy-cil

To register your interest in this or to submit a bidding form please email: CIL@Lewes-Eastbourne.gov.uk

NCIL Bidding Form 2024 Eastbourne Borough Council (Word doc, 39 KB)

Please note: Community Infrastructure Levy can only be used for projects of this nature and cannot be used by Eastbourne Borough Council to fund its business-as-usual services.

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.