West Sussex County Council yet to spend £118m of developer contributions
More than £118million of contributions made to West Sussex County Council by developers have not yet been spent.
Known as Section 106 funds (S106), the money is paid to the council by developers given permission to build in the area. It is put towards things such as roads, fire and rescue, education and libraries.
Information shared during a meeting of the full council on Friday, October 16, showed that the council currently holds more than £198.3million of S106 funds, £118million of which have yet to be allocated to projects.
In response to written questions from Brian Quinn (Lab, Broadfield), a spokesman said: “The main reason for delay in spending funds is that, in most cases, large numbers of S106 contributions have to be collected to ensure sufficient funding is available to deliver major projects, and this relies on the progress of the relevant development sites.
“Also, for large development sites, the payment of contributions is likely to be phased, with funds only paid at specific trigger points as development progresses.
“Other reasons for delay are that schemes will need to be designed, consulted upon, redesigned as necessary (and potentially re-consulted upon), and then finally programmed for delivery.
“This process can take several years and the extent of preparatory work that can be undertaken by the county council is limited until sufficient S106 funds are received.”
Of the money held, £154.8million is for education, £37.5million is for highways and transport, £5.4million is for libraries, £375,338 is for fire and rescue, £132,525 is for flood risk management, and £26,744 is for open space, landscape, and ecology.
Most contributions secured via S106 agreements have to be spent within ten years of receipt. Some £9.4million of those agreements will expire within the next 12 months – but are expected to be allocated to suitable projects and spent within the deadline.