A bidding process for around £10 million of unspent cash amassed by East Devon District Council (EDDC) from contributions made by developers as part of planning approval for their schemes is set to begin soon.

Local Democracy Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

The money comes from community infrastructure levies (CIL) and what are known as Section 106 contributions, writes local democracy reporter Bradley Gerrard.

CIL is a charge that local authorities can set on new developments to raise funds to help fund infrastructure, facilities and services – such as schools or transport improvements – needed to support new homes and businesses.

Section 106 cash can be used for highways improvements, providing facilities such as play parks, and can also be linked to affordable housing.

The council’s latest infrastructure funding statement shows it has around £10 million of unspent funds.

Staff shortages in its planning department have meant that the council has had difficulty allocating the money, and couldn’t produce a statement for the 2022/23 financial year outlining how much it had received from such contributions.

Cllr Todd Olive (Liberal Democrat, Whimple and Rockbeare) who chairs the strategic planning committee, said the council now had a CIL working group and a new team of officers.

Ed Freeman, an assistant director in the planning department, said they hope to create a shortlist from bids from strategic infrastructure providers, such as Devon County Council and the NHS by the autumn.

“We have agreed an outline of the process and put that in motion, so we are hoping to approach providers in the next few weeks to start that process,” Mr Freeman said.

Cllr Dan Ledger (Independent, Seaton) said CIL and Section 106 money could be earning interest. “I’d like to propose that any future interest we get from this type of money is ring-fenced for infrastructure funding,” he said.

While a motion was approved to ask the council’s cabinet to consider this, deputy leader Paul Hayward (Independent, Axminster) warned about unintended consequences.

“It will have a significant impact on the council’s budget to we need to be careful what we wish for,” he said.

“I understand from this committee’s perspective [the interest]should be ring-fenced, but we need to find out the implications, as while it might be a laudable and worthy motion, if it could have detrimental effects elsewhere then that needs to be unpicked.”

East Devon leaders could call on the government to force build deadlines on developers, or slap them with fines if they fail to deliver on time.

Local Democracy Reporter eastdevonnews.co.uk

East Devon District Council is considering putting pressure on the government to change the law so that unfinished developments are completed sooner, writes local democracy reporter Bradley Gerrard.

Councillors routinely express frustration that some developers start building work, but then halt progress, often for financial reasons.

This can be problematic for authorities which have to show that they have approved a certain number of homes per year, and crucially, that they have five years’ worth of land that is going to be developed.

If work on some land stops, this can put pressure on councils to approve more applications to meet that five-year requirement.

Cllr Mike Howe (Independent, Clyst Vale), vice chair of the strategic planning committee, suggested that developers should be forced to complete projects within a certain timeframe, and if this date was missed then they should face the prospect of a financial cost or the option to give up their planning permission.

“I’ve long held the belief that if an applicant gets planning permission and they make a material start but don’t continue to build, that after three or five years, even if it is not completed, they should have to start paying business rates or council tax,” he said.

“I believe there needs to be a carrot and stick approach as I don’t think developers should be able to sit on a site and not pay any council tax or rates on it.

“And if they don’t want the site any longer, then they should have the option to rescind their planning permission so they don’t have to pay the charges on it.”

Ed Freeman, an assistant director of the council’s planning department, said this was not something the council could pursue by itself, and that legislation would be needed to be able to charge business rates or council tax on buildings that don’t yet exist.

The strategic planning committee agreed to ask the cabinet to ask the government to consider passing legal changes to incentivise developers to complete the sites they have planning permission for within a maximum timeframe.