Agenda item

Question from Alan Melton. 

In accordance with Procedure Rule 9A, the Parish Clerk for Manea, Alan Melton attended Council and asked the following question to Councillor Mrs Laws, Portfolio Holder for Planning.

Mr Melton stated that he has been invited by a number of parishes to undertake work with them and explained that he has worked with authorities in South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. He expressed the view that he is concerned with regards to the level of Section 106 monies that they are in receipt of for local communities that Fenland does not appear to be receiving and asked Councillor Mrs Laws if she could clarify why does Fenland not receive these contributions and what is she going to do about it in the future.

Mr Melton continued by explaining that whilst working with East Cambridgeshire he received a letter from the Financial Officer to advise him that £60,000 had been credited to their bank account for development and a further £3,000 for a single dwelling. He explained that during the financial year he was provided with a list of all the Section 106 contributions that have been paid to all of the parishes in East Cambridgeshire with the exception of Sutton who have advised that they have invested any Section 106 monies received by Sutton Parish Council into property.

Mr Melton stated that South Cambridgeshire Council have also advised him that they will be crediting the relevant bank account and so far this year contributions of £109,000 have been received and another £60,000 is also due. He explained that whilst undertaking some work in Fenstanton he was surprised to find that there was some Section 106 accounts with over £300,000 in them which were due to be allocated to local projects.

Mr Melton expressed the opinion that he is concerned that Fenland does not have a policy which deals with Section 106 contributions, and he made reference to the Wenny Meadow development where there are no contributions for the local community and another development in Doddington Road, Chatteris where again there are no funds for the local community. He expressed the view that developers are using the legislation which is set out on the viability standards, and referred to the Wenny Meadow application where the application indicates that the developer states that the proposed selling of the dwellings will be in the region of £250,000 and the same houses on the same layout are selling for in excess of £450,000. Mr Melton stated that there needs to be a review of a policy and viability standards and criteria need to be challenged.

Councillor Mrs Laws responded that she was under the impression it was Wenny Road and the Wenny Meadow stage of the proposal has yet to be achieved. She stated that East Cambridgeshire District Council and Huntingdonshire Council both operate a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) scheme and under the Government rules for CIL the Council must give a cash proportion of the CIL income to Parish Councils and where the CIL paying development is located in that Parish.

Councillor Mrs Laws stated that Fenland District Council have looked at the development viability twice now and have decided that it is not appropriate to introduce CIL due to the low property values in the area and this is why the Town and Parish Councils in Fenland do not receive monies from the District Council as a matter of course. She explained that with regards to South Cambridgeshire District Council they do not operate a CIL system and, therefore, the parishes do not receive any CIL monies.

Councillor Mrs Laws stated that where there is a Section 106 for a development it can sometimes be the case that the developer provides money to be spent on new and improved community facilities, such as the play park in Snowley Park in Whittlesey. She added that in such cases it is usual for the money to be held by the District Council and the money will be used by the Council itself, but it can potentially also be made available to the Town and Parish Councils in order for them to spend on qualifying projects.

Councillor Mrs Laws stated that in the past periodically the Town and Parish Councils have been contacted so that they are aware of the Section 106 position in their respective areas. She made the point that she will arrange for that contact to made again by the end of the month.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 9a, Mr Melton was given the opportunity to ask a further supplementary question or seek clarification to the response provided in his original question.

Mr Melton stated that it is his understanding that in Huntingdonshire and also in East Cambridgeshire they operate both Section 106 and CIL schemes as there is a differential in values as there also is in Fenland. He stated that the Leader of the Council, along with the Chairman and also Councillor Mrs Laws, are all elected Whittlesey members and they should be aware of the large development taking place in that area which is over 1,000 dwellings.

Mr Melton added that due to the tax base the Council is able to reduce its Council Tax, however, if a proper Section 106 policy was in place, then Whittlesey Town Council would not be borrowing money or missing out on maths funding and they would be in the same position as Sutton Parish Council and have money to invest in the town of Whittlesey for the local community.

In response, Councillor Mrs Laws questioned where Whittlesey Town Council is borrowing money from and for what purpose?