THE £13million New Homes Bonus (NHB) funding given to Cotswold District Council (CDC) is not being used as the government had intended, a chief executive officer at Cirencester Town Council has said.

Councillors unanimously agreed that town mayor Nigel Robbins and chief executive officer Andrew Tubb should write to CDC to ask for a public consultation on how the £13million will be allocated in respect of the proposed Chesterton development for 2,350 homes.

Mr Tubb told councillors in a town council meeting on Tuesday, October 10, that enquiries with CDC officers reveal that the district council currently uses the NHB money, which is not ring fenced, for day-to-day operations.

He said: “The government intended the New Homes Bonus to sustain housing growth in villages. However, the funding is not ring fenced, so any funding that the district council receives is going into day-to-day operations and is not being used as the government had intended.

“The funding is not filtering through to towns and parishes. Sometimes, central government is not fully aware what is happening on the ground.”

He added after the meeting that “there is an expectation from the government that principal authorities will consult on how NHB should be allocated, particularly in areas where there is planned housing growth”.

“This is important funding which should, in principle, be used to contribute towards meeting social, economic and environmental needs of the community,” he said.

A spokesperson for CDC responded: “The leader of CDC has recently assured the town council that we are committed to working with them to ensure that Cirencester continues to be a thriving and sustainable community.

“As part of that accord, CDC has maintained its level of services locally and has also managed to cut council tax by 13 per cent since 2011, while freezing car parking and leisure charges year on year for the benefit of local residents.

“Much of the funding for these initiatives has come from New Homes Bonus payments received by the council.

“This funding has also made it possible for CDC to commit to the building of a decked car park which will provide a long term solution to the car parking pressures in Cirencester both now and in the future.

“Additionally, CDC’s head of planning and strategic housing is intending to engage with the community of Cirencester to develop a Town Centre Implementation Plan.

“Against this backdrop, please note that future anticipated income from New Homes Bonus will be subject to changes which will most certainly reduce the amount available, especially since the government needs to find more funding for other priorities such as social services.”

He added that by the time the district council is able to receive any NHB arising from the Chesterton site, as the development leads to an increased council tax base, it will be “highly likely” that the NHB scheme will have changed and the grant will have been reduced.