Community projects receive cash boost
CIL payments, are legally required from developers of residential sites across the district. Once received, they are redistributed by the council to help local facilities keep pace with housing growth.
In the latest round of funding, The Bank Arts Centre in Eye is set to benefit from just under £45k to go towards the final phase of a redevelopment project which includes reconfiguring of the toilets to ensure they are accessible and to the upstairs workshop area to make it a more flexible and usable space.
Suffolk County Council’s recycling centre on Old Bury Road in Stowmarket is also benefitting from this round of funding with £38k being approved to go towards work to improve and expand the site.
Cabinet Members also noted a bid from Tostock Village Hall for a project to increase parking provision and agreed to an extension for the Woolpit and Elmswell footway and cycleway project which was previously approved by Cabinet but needed additional time to complete the project.
Bids for CIL funding are regularly reviewed by cabinet so that money can be ploughed back into local infrastructure.
As the demand for housing grows, it is so important that local infrastructure is able to grow at the same rate and that’s where CIL funding comes in.
By funding these projects across the district, we are playing our part in ensuring that the local infrastructure is able to meet the ever-growing demands placed upon it.”
Details of all the CIL awards can be found in the Cabinet papers on the agendas and decisions page on the Mid Suffolk website, or they are summarised below:
Eye Banks Art Centre Infrastructure Improvement Project - £44,901.05
The Bank Arts Centre in Eye is a volunteer-led, not for profit creative hub run by the Eyes Open CIC which was established in 2012 to address a recognised lack of accessible, affordable creative and cultural provision in the region.
In 2021, Eyes Open CIC undertook to begin a significant re-development of the Centre to ensure that it remains open as a thriving community asset.
This CIL bid is for the final phase of that work that concentrates on reconfiguring the toilets to make them fully accessible as well as the upstairs workshop space to make it more flexible and useable.
We're lucky to have a welcoming, creative arts venue in a small town like Eye, and I hope this funding will help the Bank to be accessible to all residents and visitors. The changes to the meeting rooms will also allow more workshops and activities to take place."
Improvements to the Waste Recycling Centre in Stowmarket - £38,376.00
This project will resolve existing site stability issues with the installation of a reinforced concrete slab to help transfer loads and will utilise a piece of land located at the entrance for a small expansion.
This proposal will allow the site to continue to function for the next 15 to 20 years and address the impact of housing growth in the interim.
Woolpit and Elmswell Footway and Cycleway - £3,099,930.16 (unchanged)
This CIL bid was previously approved in June 2025 subject to a number of conditions. The design phase has taken longer than anticipated and an extension is required to 31 March 2028 so funds can be drawn down to complete the project before the expiry of the 2-year award period.
Delegated decision:
Tostock Village Hall Car Park Extension project - £28,290.83
This CIL bid will allow a car park extension to take place which will provide a further 10 car parking spaces (on top of the 14 already in situ).
Provision of these additional parking spaces will help to alleviate the parking on the pavement which currently occurs and on the narrow public highway that runs just outside of the Village Hall.
This is an ambitious undertaking for Tostock and so I congratulate all those on the village hall management committee for reaching this milestone.”
