Cllr Steph Powell & Cllr Martin Osbourne
Co-Chairs, Tourism, Equalities, Communities & Culture Committee
Hove Town Hall, Hove, East Sussex. BN3 3BQ
Dear Cllr Powell & Cllr Osbourne
Member Letter (Procedure rule 23.3): Contributions held - Unspent Section 106 agreement and Community Infrastructure Levy funding
I am writing this letter to bring the Committee’s attention to the large sum of developer ‘contributions held’ that are currently sitting unspent by the Council.
From the data in the Developer Financial Contributions 2021/22 summary, these include:
- £23,574,569 of unspent Section 106 contributions (Obligation Category); and
- £386,180 of unspent Community Infrastructure Levy contributions.
Such contributions are levied on developers to be expended for the benefit of the community; specifically, to assist with infrastructure to reduce the impact of a new development and make sure that it does not place additional pressure on existing infrastructure.
It is concerning that such a large sum of funds for infrastructure improvements is sitting unspent, which suggests that the city is not properly managing the flow of these contributions and spending them in a timely manner to improve infrastructure.
Residents and local businesses expect that infrastructure improvements associated with development applications promised by the Council are fully undertaken. They rely on the Council to spend this funding promptly and wisely on their behalf.
Can the Chair please advise the committee what the reason is for the delay in expending these contributions and whether a plan is in place to catch up?
Yours
sincerely,
Cllr Dee Simson
Councillor for Woodingdean Ward