YOU MAY OR may not have heard of the term Sec 106 money.

In a nutshell, this is money that developers of larger sites pay to the council to reduce the impact of the development.

Developers sign a S106 agreement as part of their planning permission. This is a legal document that specifies what the money is spent on and where. For example, S106 money is used to make improvements to highways, parks, public transport, school etc.

One tends to assume that every penny will be spent on amenities as promised.

As part of the scrutiny process, communications consultant Ruth Hayhurst has submitted a freedom of information request to every council in the UK asking the following questions.

Please provide the following details for all payments received
under Section 106 planning agreements:

The value of the payment

The purpose of the payment

The amount of the payment that has been spent

The amount that has been committed but not spent

The amount that has not been committed or spent

The amount that has been repaid

The reason for the repayment

Please provide these details for the following years:

2012-2013

2011-2012

2010-2011

2009-2010

2008-2009

Please also provide details of any unspent money that dates back to before 2008-9.