Royal Borough receives more S106 cash from developers

The amount developers have paid the council in Section 106 payments has risen by 18 per cent.

Figures taken from a report to be heard by the Planning and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Panel on Monday show how much money the Royal Borough received from developers and how much of it was spent.

Section 106 (S106) payments are made by developers and used for public improvements. The money can be used to build schools, hospitals and maintain roads.

Overall the borough received £7,874,006 through S106 payments in 2013-14, which is 18 per cent more than the £6,572,926 it collected in 2012-13.

More than £1.7million of the 2013-14 cash was left unspent in the last financial year.

A Royal Borough spokesman said it is not always possible to spend money in the same year it is collected.

He added: "It is normal therefore for monies to be spent in years subsequent to collection."

As of March the council was chasing £60,000 of owed payments from developers, which is down from a high of £310,000 In April 2012.

The Royal Borough added that 'all' of the outstanding £60,000 is 'in the process of being paid'.