Agenda item

This report provides the Committee with information regarding the Council’s approach to creating Section 106 agreements (S106) before they are signed off and the implementation of new tracking system and arrangements between Finance and Planning.

The Director of Environment, Transport and Planning introduced the report. He noted the work that was undertaken by the planning department in Section 106 agreements, he also outlined that the spending of the Section 106 agreements was with the department in the Council that was responsible for areas the agreement was providing funding for, such as the Public Realms team for funding for parks or Transport for road improvements. It was confirmed that the Council had invested in monitoring its Section 106 agreements and that this work had been audited. 

The Director and Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities confirmed that 25% of Section 106 funding is available to relevant communities if they have a neighbourhood plan or 15% if not. This community funding can go to Parish Council’s if in place, otherwise the Council would undertake play the role of the Parish Council. It was confirmed that officers were seeking clarity as to whether communities could use Section 106 funding to fund a neighbourhood plan, noting the challenges of creating a plan.

The Committee noted the audit that had been considered by the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee. Members raised concerns in relation to the timescales for spending Section 106 money and enquired whether there was a better way of tracking Section 106 money received and it spend. Officers confirmed that the Council publishes its Infrastructure Funding Statement each year which covered all applications, money secured, and what is being spent on. They confirmed that presenting this information for longer timescales could be challenging due to things such as tiggers in Section 106 agreements which could come years after the agreement was signed.

Members expressed a desire for Ward Councillors to be more engaged, in helping identify opportunities for improvements in community infrastructure, such as parks and urban spaces connected to Section 106 agreements. Officers welcomed Members engagement and recommended that it was better for Councillors to engage with officers to identify priorities long before planning applications were submitted, this way officers could better prioritise when planning applications are submitted.

Members enquired as to what would happen in relation to a developer going bankrupt before a development was finished and not all the Section 106 agreement triggers had been met. Officers explained that the Section 106 agreements are linked to the land the development is on and not to the specific developer, this means that in the case that a new developer comes in to finish a development, that developer would be bound by the Section 106 agreement.

The Committee were informed that the Council was progressing to implement Community Infrastructure Levies (CIL) as part of agreements they make with developers. A CIL Members were told would provide a number of benefits including standardising agreements and providing the Council with more flexibility to fund relevant infrastructure improvements.

Resolved:

                      i.         To recommend that training to Members include how to engage in the Section 106/CIL process and how to help identify potential projects in their Ward which could be subject to future Section 106/CIL funding;

                    ii.         To recommend that Officers explore whether there can be a way of Ward Councillors logging potential projects in there Ward which could be considered in future Section 106/CIL agreements;

                   iii.         To recommend that Officers explore how to provide further detail in the Infrastructure Funding Statement including mapping multiple years of funding;

                  iv.         To request that the report on the Council seeking to implement CIL be shared with the Committee.

Reason:    To ensure the Committee are updated on the Council’s use of Section 106 agreements and support Members to engage in what projects progress from Section 106 agreement funding.