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 

Eastbourne Grant applications now open for Community Infrastructure Levy projects

Apply by Monday 7 October

We are inviting bids from community organisations and groups for match-funded grants of up to £20,000.

The funding is available through the Neighbourhood Portion of the Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL), which collects funds from developments within Eastbourne Borough.

NCIL can be used to fund projects which address the demands resulting from development in Eastbourne 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

Eastbourne Borough Council is inviting bids of up to £20,000 with a minimum requirement of 50% matched funding.

The closing date for applications is 10am on Monday 7 October 2024.

If thinking about applying, please to email us with a brief outline of your project by 5pm on Friday 20 September 2024. This will help us assess bids more rapidly after the closing date.

Online Q&A - Monday 23 September 2025

We will hold an online drop-in Q&A session on Monday 23rd September 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

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.