Worthing CIL Neighbourhood Fund

Worthing Borough Council are proud to be relaunching the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Neighbourhood Fund programme in 2023/24.

The first round of allocations were made in 2021/22 and the Council is now in a position to open up a revised community-based funding round.

The Worthing CIL Neighbourhood Fund pots of money have been accrued from payments made by developers building in the local area and are available to local community groups, organisations and residents associations in the selected areas. A summary of the applications received and which projects have been funded can be found in the summary of bids received in 2021 section (see below). 

What can the CIL Neighbourhood Fund be used for?

15% of all CIL funds received by Worthing Borough Council are to be spent in the neighbourhood where the development took place (known as the Neighbourhood Fund).

In accordance with the Government's CIL Regulations the CIL Neighbourhood Fund should be used to support local projects which entail:

  • the provision, improvement, replacement, operation or maintenance of infrastructure; or
  • anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area

The opportunity with this fund is the "demand that the development places on an area". This gives communities freedom and power to spend the money on a wide range of things, in consultation with the local residents. Local project proposals seeking support from the CIL neighbourhood fund, can therefore cover a broad range of project types, by using the opportunities that local development brings to an area.

This might include projects that:

  • tackle social isolation
  • encourage community cohesion
  • improvements to open space, play and leisure facilities
  • projects that enhance your local environment, or tackles the impact on the climate
  • activity that promotes outdoor spaces
  • activity that enhance people's health and wellbeing
  • public art projects
  • encourage residents to use local activities they might not normally be able to access

The activity must take place in the CIL area you are applying for, as defined below.

As part of the application and any subsequent award you will be expected to evidence the local need and provide impactful case studies.

How will neighbourhoods be defined?

In the absence of parishes and neighbourhood plans, which is the case in Worthing, the CIL Regulations allow the Council to design its own bespoke definition of what constitutes a local neighbourhood area for the purpose of allocating the CIL Neighbourhood Fund. For the 2021/22 funding round, ward boundaries were used for allocating funds.

Following discussions internally and with a range of community groups, a revised approach is now being used to allocate the funding based on 'CIL areas' (groupings of wards) where the development takes place, with the CIL receipts pooled and to be opened up to applications if an area has over £10k collected and unallocated. The revised approach will provide greater opportunity for groups from all areas of Worthing to bid for available funds.

The aggregated groups of wards which will form the Worthing 'CIL areas' are set out below:

  • Coastal East: Heene, Central and Selden: Pot total £177K
  • Coastal West: Marine and Goring: Pot total £84K
  • North West: Northbrook, Castle and Durrington: Pot total £365K
  • North: Tarring, Gaisford and Salvington: Pot total £25K
  • North East: Broadwater and Offington: Pot total £0K

Note that the Worthing CIL areas exclude any area covered by the South Downs National Park Authority.

See also the interactive map showing the CIL areas listed above, as well as the locations of the projects which have previously been allocated CIL funding:

Who can apply for the CIL Neighbourhood Fund?

To ensure the local link with development, only organisations based in a Worthing 'CIL area' that has accumulated at least £10,000 of CIL Neighbourhood Funds are encouraged to submit project applications. The funds will be made available as part of an annual bidding process. 

Projects seeking funding from the CIL Neighbourhood Fund should be community-led and ideally be delivered by a local community organisation, group or club. It is a requirement that the group being allocated CIL funding must be formalised and have a constitution. The expressions of interest stage will give groups a chance to be signposted to a partner organisation to assist with getting set up to bid for grant funding.

What value of project proposals are invited?

The CIL Neighbourhood Fund is intended to support small local projects. Bids will be considered on their merits for local projects, as follows:

  • Project proposals can request a minimum of £1,000 and up to a maximum CIL neighbourhood fund allocation of £15,000 (or up to the total amount of funds in a CIL area, if below £15,000)
  • Applications for larger sums, of up to £30K, could be considered in CIL areas where the pot is greater than £50K, providing the applicants can demonstrate that they have actively sought matching funds from alternative funding providers
  • Project proposals that match CIL Neighbourhood Fund, with other funding sources, will be encouraged

The CIL Neighbourhood Fund can be used to fund 100% of project costs, or can also be used in conjunction with other sources of funding. For example, the CIL Fund could be used as the match funding element to secure a larger funding award from other organisations, or from the Council's own grant schemes.

It is important to note this fund will not be able to be used as ongoing revenue support, but will instead provide one-off emergency funding that could help to keep organisations and facilities alive whilst longer term funding solutions are secured. There will be a stipulation that any funding allocated to revenue projects is time limited and that the group or organisation must seek alternative funding before the CIL Neighbourhood Fund allocation runs out.

The CIL Neighbourhood Fund will be available to fund one off project costs. This means there will be no commitment by the Council to meet ongoing costs (eg maintenance or revenue costs), beyond the initial funding award. The application form asks for groups to consider the impact of funding the project beyond the initial funding. 

Additional CIL Neighbourhood Fund applications to support future phases of a project may however be considered on their merits.

How to apply

The step-by-step process for allocating funding from the Worthing CIL Neighbourhood Fund is set out below:

  • 3rd April to 19th May 2023: Groups with a project proposal are recommended to complete and submit the Worthing CIL Expression of Interest form below (please read the 'list of questions' document before you apply, which will help you prepare your application) - which will give the Council a chance to direct groups to a partner organisation who can provide support to groups to ensure that they are set up correctly to be allocated funding:
  • 22nd May to 30th June 2023: Groups are invited to complete and submit the Worthing CIL Neighbourhood Fund application form - this will consist of a simple Google form (some of the questions asked are detailed in the Guidance Note below):
  • 17th to 28th July 2023: Suitable projects will be sent through to an assessment panel, which applicants will be invited to attend - the panel is to consist of Elected Worthing Cabinet Members and specially invited Community groups who will go through the application forms submitted and will provide a chance for applicants to answer any questions
  • July 2023: The assessment panel will complete an evaluation of each project proposal and provide feedback to each applicant
  • August 2023: The assessment panel's recommendations are included in a report to the Cabinet member for Communities and Young People who will sign off on which bids are approved
  • September 2023: Formal process starts for allowing transfer of funds, starting with signing CIL fund agreement

More information is provided in the Guidance Note for applicants:

All applicants will be asked to submit an application form which will allow the CIL assessment panel to assess proposals against a range of criteria. The full evaluation form which will be completed by the panel can be found here:

Worthing Borough Council ran some CIL Neighbourhood Fund Networking Events between 9th to 11th May 2023 which saw a great level of participation from a range of community groups. It also resulted in some 'unanswered questions' regarding the CIL fund and wider Council engagement work. A copy of these questions and responses can be found here:

All applications which are allocated CIL funding will have a certain time frame to spend the funds. The project will then be monitored to ensure the correct use is made of the CIL Neighbourhood Funds. Regular updates on the project should be provided to the Council, along with a report and photos upon completion of the project.

Any bids which aren't successful this year will be informed of the reasons why and will be given the opportunity to reapply next year, dependent on sufficient funds being available in the relevant 'CIL area'.

Summary of bids received in 2021

A total of 12 applications were received in 2021 for the first round of funding. Of these, ten community groups have been awarded CIL Neighbourhood Funds totalling nearly £72,000. Here is an interactive map showing the locations of the projects which have previously been allocated CIL funding.

The ten community groups who were awarded funding are:

  • Worthing West District Guides (Tarring): to replace fascia boards, soffits and guttering to the District Guide Hall - awarded £3,666 to fund necessary maintenance work to a building used regularly by girl guides
  • Worthing Allotments Management (Tarring): providing new accessible toilets and plots at West Tarring Allotments - awarded £5,000 to help support equal access to allotments
  • High Salvington Residents Association (Salvington): speed detection on Salvington Hill - awarded £5,000 to try to reduce speeding and make the road safer for the community
  • Creative Waves Community Arts (Central): Creating Waves for Worthing - awarded £9,450 to provide educational workshops for 60 students and community art exhibition on the Pier
  • Friends of Homefield Park (Central): Active and green Homefield - awarded £10,000 to deliver a range of improvements to well used park
  • Charmandean and Area Residents' Association (Offington): Play Equipment for Hill Barn Recreation Ground - awarded £10,000 to provide play equipment for children between the ages of 6 and 12 years
  • Victoria Park Dog Walkers and Volunteers (Central): Victoria Park compost bins and bench - awarded £2,474 to provide two community composting bins and two picnic benches
  • 2nd Durrington Sea Scout Group (Durrington): Project Access - awarded £7,500 to help with inclusion of wheelchair users
  • Guild Care (Central): Methold House Garden - awarded £8,500 to improve the outdoor space and make it more user friendly
  • Friends of Denton Gardens (Central): Replace the Pergola in Denton Gardens, and Install a Commemorative Stone to Mark Next Year's Centenary of the Land Being Gifted to the Town by Alderman Denton - awarded £10,000 to improve the highly valued quiet green space

The following two community groups were invited to reapply for funding in future years:

  • Friends of West Worthing Park (Marine): applied for funding for a community seating shelter but with the Park being in the middle of a public consultation to work out what areas of the site should be prioritised, a view was taken that it would not be appropriate to allocate funding for this bid at this time until there was greater clarity on the wider project for the area.
  • Highdown Rotary (Offington): asked for funding for their rotary field, but has been told to work on the plan with park rangers to ensure it doesn't conflict with other users.

The Council has provided feedback to these applicants and, providing they address the points raised, they are encouraged to submit their revised proposals as part of a future annual funding process. 

Any questions?

Regarding expressions of interest or questions with regard to the Worthing CIL Neighbourhood Fund, please contact:

See also:

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Page last updated: 22 May 2023

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