Agenda item

The Committee is requested to note the income and expenditure between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 in respect of S106 contributions and from CIL, the information on S106 agreements within 2 years of the expenditure target date as set out in Appendix 1, the details of non-financial S106 obligations set out in Appendix 2 and the CIL monitoring information as set out in Appendix 3.

Mr Davies provided members with a detailed overview of his report. He reminded members that the annual report was a requirement of the Council’s s106 and CIL protocol. He then drew members attention to a number of highlights within his report, of which have been summarised below;

• There were 112 new s106 agreements signed in the last year. That secured a total of £333,975.00. 96 of these were unilateral undertakings providing mitigation contributions for Pagham Harbour and Chichester & Langstone Harbours.
• The expected trend in the reduction of s106 contributions since the implementation of CIL and highlighted in table one on page 24 of the agenda.
• s106 agreements are now used for onsite provision such as, open space, play areas, affordable housing and contributions to A27 mitigation where appropriate
• The value of contributions received in the year was £429,488.00 and these are detailed in appendix 5.
• Table 2 provides a summary of the funds that are held by each service as at 31 March 2021, along a summary of the funds still to be received. Appendix 6 provides an update on the status of the s106 the Council are holding.
•  Contributions that are within 2 years of their expenditure date needs additional focus a copy of the latest report produced for SLT is shown at appendix 1.
• No monies have had to be returned to developers in the last year
• The total value of CIL contributions collected was £2,624,868.00 and the expenditure on projects was £53,372.00. During the last year we passed over £263,000.00 to local Council’s to spend on their priorities.
• There was an amendment to the CIL regulations in September 2019 and the Council are now required to publish an annual infrastructure funding statement, the latest statement can be found in appendix 3.
• He reminded members that the most update to date developer contributions are always available on the public facings module that can be found on the Council’s website.

The Chairman then invited questions from the Committee as there were no members with questions at that time, Cllr Oakley was invited to receive answers to the questions he had circulated to officers and members prior to the meeting. In response to his questions Mr Davies stated:

• that funds held by National Highways for A27 junction improvements at Chichester our understanding is that as at 31 August 2021 this amounted to £1.1M but they have undertaken to check that figure and report back.
• With regards to funds from Arun DC they have confirmed that they do not hold any funds, but that s106 agreements in respect of their Pagham strategic sites should provide £888,250 to improve capacity at Whyke junction. It is understood that similar arrangements are, or will be in place for their Land West of Bersted strategic site for improvements to the Bognor Road junction. Monies will be collected by National Highways.
• In response to a question regarding a specific contribution from Land East of Barton Way site, our legal advice is that this money should be handed over to National Highways now in order to fulfil our obligations under the relevant s106 and doing so would secure the funds.
• With regards to questions around the additional focus on contributions that are within 2 years of expiry and whether this is sufficient, Mr Davies explained that all contributions are reviewed on a quarterly basis with spending officers. The two-year report and other monitoring undertaken has proved to be sufficient in the past but will be kept under review.

Cllr Dignum then asked for clarification regarding monies that had been allocated by the Council but had not been spent at expiry and if it could be clawed back from the developers? Mr Davies explained that there were clauses within the s106 agreement that allow the Council to hold the monies beyond the spend deadline, providing the spend has been approved and we are just waiting for the project to be delivered. Cllr Dignum then asked who decides where the community monies are spent and who makes those decisions. Mr Davies advised that it was generally CDC officers in conjunction with local parishes and organisations. He further clarified that up to £50,000 was the spending decision that can be approved by the Cabinet Member and Service Director and consulting with the Ward Member. Larger sums are approved by Cabinet and Council in accordance with the s106 and CIL protocol.

The Committee noted;

1.    The income and expenditure between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 in respect of s106 contributions and from CIL;

2.    The information on s106 agreements within 2 years of the expenditure target date as set out in Appendix 1; and;

3.    The details of non-financial s106 obligations set out in Appendix 2; and 3.4 The CIL monitoring information as set out in Appendix 3.