Following the revelation that Cheshire East Council was holding millions of pounds in their S106 account they are proposing to make changes to ensure that local councillors are more aware and involved in the S106 process.
As the result of a Freedom of Information Request, wilmslow.co.uk revealed in September 2015 that Cheshire East Council (CEC) was holding over £14m in their S106 account.
According to the Council coverage in the local press impacted negatively on their reputation and Members of the Council raised concerns about the lack of information being received regarding S106 agreements in their wards.
Concern has also been expressed by Members regarding the desire to be more involved in how agreements are made, what the money is raised for and how the money is being spent.
As a result Task and Finish Group was established to consider how member Involvement in section 106 agreements could be improved whilst ensuring that their involvement provides better outcomes for communities.
Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between the Council and developers, if these agreements are not developed effectively then the Council may not be able to claim funds from developers for community projects. Many section 106 agreements also have deadlines for when the funds must be spent by, therefore there is a risk of losing funds through ineffective processes.
The Task Group made a number of recommendations that were approved at a meeting of the Jobs, Regeneration and Assets Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday, 21st March. The report will now be considered by Cabinet when it meets on April 12th to decide whether or not to support the recommendations.
To ensure the Council effectively involves local councillors and towns and parish councils in the setting up and use of section 106 agreements the Task Group recommended that Ward Councillors be involved at the earliest possible stage about all possible section 106 agreements for developments in their ward.
Further training on S106 agreements will be provided for councillors who were unable to attend the sessions held in December 2015 and a fact sheet on section 106 agreements will be created and shared with Borough Councillors and Town and Parish Councils to provide a better understanding of the process.
Once councillors are sufficiently informed about the section 106 process ward members will be encouraged to proactively work with their town and parish councils to develop a wish list of projects in their area which could potentially be allocated funding through section 106 agreements.
Additionally, the Section 106 Officer position, which is currently vacant, will be filled as soon as possible and they will hold six monthly section 106 update meetings for ward members.
Councillor Hayley Wells-Bradshaw, Chairman of the Section 106 Agreements Task and Finish Group said "For many Councillors there has been a feeling of frustration about an apparent lack of involvement in something that affects their ward in a tangible way. This frustration may in part be down to a lack of understanding from Councillors and Town and Parish Councils as much as it is down to an ineffective system.
"The training sessions for Councillors have been important, particularly for new members like me, to help us understand what can and can't be done. There are a lot of new councillors at town and parish level as well and the Council needs to help their understanding. As Borough Councillors we also have a responsibility to ensure our town and parish councils and residents also have an accurate understanding of the S106 processes and support the Council."
Cllr Craig Browne (Ward Councillor for Alderley Edge) is a member of the Task and Finish Group, speaking about the recommendations he said "The main impact that I hope the recommendations will have (if accepted) will be to help make the whole Section 106 process more transparent by requiring Officers to involve Ward Members at an early stage of the negotiations, so that they can help make sure that the agreed schemes actually help address local priorities (although this will be further helped where Town & Parish Councils have a Neighbourhood Plan in place).
"Another impact will be to help improve awareness of what Section 106 schemes are in place at the moment and also how the funds are able to be used. Payments are often "triggered" when developments reach a certain stage, but the schemes are also usually very tightly restricted, so the monies cannot just be spent on anything. Hopefully this will be addressed in future through briefing/training sessions for Town & Parish Councils.
"Finally, the proposal for regular (six-monthly) meetings between Ward Members & Section 106 Officers will help improve the monitoring of how and when the funds are being spent, including any remaining balances. This is something that we, as Cheshire East Councillors, are often asked about (either by residents or Parish Councillors) and it is important in terms of transparency that we are able to provide an answer."
As the result of a Freedom of Information Request we submitted in September 2015, wilmslow.co.uk revealed that at the time the Council had £1,167,534 in the bank from agreements relating to Wilmslow and £469,590 for Handforth which represents a substantial increase for Wilmslow but a decrease for Handforth since we last obtained figures. In October 2013 the amounts were £546,138 and £523,836 respectively.
Money set aside for Wilmslow, as of September 2015, included:
• £460,258 for the Waters Development on Altrincham Road - to be used for recreation and outdoor sports plus towards footpath work between the site and Mobberley Road including the provision of a Toucan crossing. £259,315 is allocated for the provision of open space facilities at Browns Lane and other local recreational projects
• £78,000 for the development of Oaklands School - to be used for open space and enhancements at the local play and amenity facility at Browns Lane.
• £82,499 for the development of Oaken Court on Nightingale Close - towards off site play provision and education provision within the locality.
• £51,074 for the development at Kings Close - towards the implementation of the council's park strategy at the Carrs and other town centre sites.
• £249,162 for the development off Adlington Road - towards secondary education within the vicinity, for the TRO (Traffic Regulation Order) to reduce the speed limit along Adlington Road and towards habitat creation to offset the loss of biodiversity.
• £19,335 for the former RAF camp site off Dean Row Road - for the onsite provision of open space.
• £24,420 for the former police station on Green Lane - for the implementation of the Council's parks strategy at The Carrs.
• £65,907 for erection of apartment on land adjacent to Twinnies Road - for the implementation of the Council's parks strategy at Lacey Green.
• £63,337 for the erection of 24 dwellings to the rear of Ace Works - for the provision of open space and sports facilities within the Macclesfield Borough.
Money set aside for Handforth, as of September 2015, included:
• £28,734 for the Picton Drive, Howty Close Site & Summerfields sites - for sporting/recreational facilities and play areas.
• £13,462 for the Woodlands Chase land at Handforth Road - to be used for the maintenance of POS.
• £28,191 for the development of land at Honford Court, to pay for the improvement and enhancement of the facilities within Meriton Road Park and a TRO.
• £399,202 for the development of retirement flats at 195-199 Wilmslow Road for the provision of affordable housing and POS to be sent on improvements anywhere in the borough.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Date of s106 Agreement: CEC Ward: Company: Amount received: Amount allocates: Purpose: Balance.
Similarly for Town/Parish Council accounts ie
Est cost of specified Wish list project: amount received: amount spent
Buzz word - Transparency.
Case in point is the new Adlington Rd development, part of the permissions granted were improvements onto the A34 slip roads. Anyone who has been down Dean Row Road in the last 3 months will have seen a terrible build up in traffic during both rush hours. And then they closed Adlington Road just to make it worse. Will this A34 access money get put into the CEC slush fund as well?
Secondary Education - £424,910 index linked
Recreation and Outdoor Sports - £143,000
Traffic Regulation Order - £10,000
Grassland Sum - £30,114
Maintentance sum - £51,314
Off site public open space - £352,500
Adopted lighting scheme for footpath across public open space Brown's Lane - £43,000.
Now my maths might not be that great, but I make this well in excess of £249,162 quoted above for this development - has a zero been missed off? Perhaps there needs to be a public register of S106 monies for all to see online? At the same time the Public Register for Enforcement Action needs to be kept online - Cheshire West manage it.
A lorry load of limestone will do the trick. For little money job done.
I'd do it, if CEC pay the bill. Who can I send it to?
I have been waiting since January for detailed information from officers in respect of S106 monies allocated to Open Spaces and Recreation and Education.
It is very difficult to do anything without having the necessary information and co-operation.
I very much welcome the findings of the Task and Finish Group and I hope their recommendations are approved - the system at the moment is deeply unsatisfactory to councillors and residents alike.
Councillor Toni Fox
Dean Row Ward - Wilmslow
By the way, Councillor Fox has been on the S106 case ever since she was elected by the good and sensible people of Dean Row.