Here is your chance to have your say on how West Lancashire Borough Council should spend money raised from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).
CIL allows the Council to raise funds from developers who are undertaking new building projects in the Borough. The money the Council collect must be used to pay for a wide range of infrastructure needed to support new development across the Borough. This can include open spaces, parks, play areas, outdoor sports facilities, playing pitches, cycle paths, footpaths, and community facilities.
The Council wants to know your views on how the money it will have collected by 31 March 2016 should be spent in the 2016/17 financial year.
We have put forward options on how we should spend the money, including recommending a series of projects the money could be spent on.
These projects are:
- The creation of allotments in Skelmersdale
- The creation of allotment in Burscough
- Improvements to public open space and associated car parking at Station Approach in Ormskirk
- Improvements to a nature reserve in Haskayne
- Extension to community facilities in Halsall
These projects have been shortlisted from a much larger list of over 100 potential schemes. We want to know whether you support these projects. You can also tell us, if and why you think any other projects on the infrastructure list should be considered for funding in 2016/17, or even suggest your own ideas for suitable projects.
You can also comment on whether the Council should fund all of these five projects; some of them, or alternatively none of them, thereby allowing a greater amount of money to be carried forward for future years, which could then possibly fund larger schemes.
You can send your comments to the Council between Thursday 1 October and Friday 30 October 2015. More information will be available at Community Infrastructure Levy consultation from Thursday 1 October, or you can drop in to your local library or Council office to view the documents. If you have any questions phone 01695 585171. You can submit your views through the websiteor by collecting a paper based comments form from one of the above venues. We cannot accept anonymous comments so please ensure your name and address are supplied.
All comments received will be considered as we prepare our final recommendations. A final decision on how we spend CIL monies will be made by the Council’s Cabinet in early 2016.