Infrastructure Delivery Plan

The Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) is an essential document supporting the Borough’s New Local Plan to ensure that development happens in the right places at the right time, in a coordinated way.

It uses a wide variety of data to set out:

• What infrastructure is required for the future?
• When will it be required?
• How much is it likely to cost?
• How will it be funded and who is responsible for providing it?
• Are there any identified funding gaps? If so, how are they likely to be overcome?

‘Infrastructure’ is the systems and services that the borough needs to support its residents and economy and ensure a good quality of life. This includes physical infrastructure such as transport, waste and energy supply, but also social facilities such as schools, healthcare and culture, and green and blue infrastructure such as sport pitches, playgrounds and our forest, river and reservoirs.

Because the Borough’s population and its needs are constantly changing, the Infrastructure Development Plan is a live document that will be revised annually as we receive new information, or when new technologies and solutions become available.

• Executive summary (PDF)
• Part 1: Introduction and anticipated growth to 2035 (PDF)
• Part 2: Physical infrastructure (PDF)
• Part 3: Social and community infrastructure (PDF)
• Part 4: Green and blue infrastructure (PDF)
• Part 5: Funding, governance and delivery and appendices (PDF)
• Infrastructure delivery schedule (PDF)

Each year we will publish an updated Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) that will set out the previous 12 months income and expenditure relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 (S106) agreements and planned expenditure the 12 ahead.

The Council draws on several sources of funding to pay for the infrastructure the Borough needs, with contributions for a single project coming from multiple sources. This partnership approach to delivery has been key to the successful regeneration of areas across London and the UK. The main sources are:

• Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): Contributions from developers based on new building projects. Because CIL is directly related to the quantum of development that is built, it is hard to predict exactly, but it is expected that CIL could generate up to £111m over the Local Plan period.
• Neighbourhood CIL (NCIL): 15% of CIL receipts (or 25% where there is a neighbourhood plan in place, as at Highams Park) must be spent on addressing additional demands placed on an area by the new development. This is not limited to infrastructure.
• Section 106 (S106): Financial and non-financial obligations can be secured through new developments to mitigate potential impact of the development and help deliver things that a neighbourhood needs such as affordable housing or improved green spaces. As with CIL, it is reliant on new development coming forward and is therefore difficult to predict.
• Council Tax: This funds approximately 50% of the Borough’s services, excluding schools. New homes in the borough will increase the amount of Council Tax collected.
• Business rates: paid on commercial property.
• New Homes Bonus (NHB): A grant paid to councils as an incentive for housing growth. Local authorities need to achieve tax base growth (the amount of economic activity subject to tax) of more than 0.4% before they receive this.
• Private sector funding: The private sector will have a fundamental role to play in the delivery of the infrastructure that Waltham Forest needs. This will take place through development management, regeneration, housing delivery, property and asset management, highways, education and waste functions.
• Utility service investment plans: The Council works closely with infrastructure providers to ensure they incorporate the Borough’s growth into their long-term plans. This ensures that the ‘hard’ infrastructure such as sewers or a sub-station are taken care of by providers, leaving the Council to use infrastructure contributions such as CIL for social and community improvements.
• National grants: for example Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England. Financial and professional support provided by these bodies can be instrumental in developing shared visions and objectives, allowing us to pursue more ambitious schemes.