Arun District Council holds almost £11million of developer contributions for infrastructure

The council will soon publish a summary of all the developer contributions it received during the last financial year – known as Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy funds.

Developers building new homes in the district might be liable for these fees which the council then uses to pay for infrastructure like affordable housing, green spaces, and sports facilities.

Some of the money goes to the NHS and the county council to contribute towards schools, roads, libraries, and the fire service.

This is crucial as 20,000 homes are expected to be built in the district by 2031 and an estimated £245 million will be required to meet the added pressure.

ADC’s Planning Policy Committee discussed the latest figures on Thursday (24 November).

They were told that the council currently has £10.9 million which has not been spent or allocated to projects.

This could be down to several factors such as an appropriate project not being fully funded or funds coming forward several years after planning permission is granted.

Officers say this will have to be ‘constantly monitored’ going forward as the council may have to hand the money back if it is not spent within five years.

An ‘action plan’ will now be drawn up to ensure the money is spent in time.

Of the £10.9 million, £2.7 is available for affordable housing; £2 million for highways; £1.8 million for education; £1.8 million for health; with £1.7 million available for community facilities.

The remainder is for open space and leisure, transport and travel, and green infrastructure.

During the 2021 – 2022 financial year, around £1.7 million was received from developers.

In total, £697,000 was spent on infrastructure projects with some of the money coming from developments agreed before 2019.

A total of 58 affordable homes were provided as ‘non-monetary’ contributions and the council also agreed a further 83 new affordable homes.

There is expected to be a ‘significant increase’ in developer contributions going forwards as planning permission has been granted for some of the ‘strategic sites’ in the district which will provide the bulk of new housing.