In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider Motions on notice from Members. Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon twelve clear working days before the meeting.
The following Motion had been received:-
Motion Proposed by Councillor R Shipman and Seconded by Councillor P Windley
Council notes:
· Section 106 agreements are an agreement between a developer and the local planning authority to reduce their impact on the community.
· Two developers have failed to pay their section 106 agreements to North East Derbyshire District Council totally to £77,000 and £113,000 at Ridgeway and Morton respectively after going into liquidation.
Council resolves:
· For the Leader of North East Derbyshire District Council to write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government, and ask that he introduce measures to ensure that developers, and directors of those companies, are forced to pay the agreed amounts under section 106 agreements
Minutes:
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 10 to consider Motions on notice from Members. Motions must be received in writing or by email to the Monitoring Officer by 12 noon twelve clear working days before the meeting.
One motion had been submitted from Members.
Motion submitted from Councillor R Shipman and seconded by Councillor P Windley
Council notes:
· Section 106 agreements are an agreement between a developer and the local planning authority to reduce their impact on the community.
· Two developers have failed to pay their section 106 agreements to North East Derbyshire District Council totally to £77,000 and £113,000 at Ridgeway and Morton respectively after going into liquidation.
Council resolves:
· For the Leader of North East Derbyshire District Council to write to the
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government, and ask that he introduce measures to ensure that developers, and directors of those companies, are forced to pay the agreed amounts under section 106 agreements
Councillor S Cornwell spoke in favour of the motion and argued that section 106 agreements were often distributed unfairly and that monies were not paid in full. Council heard about a local ward issue in which a section 106 payment was paid in error to Derbyshire County Council.
Councillor C Renwick acknowledged that whilst it was an important issue, she could not support the motion as the Council remained unable to chase payments from companies who had entered into liquidation, and that she preferred to resolve the issue internally.
Councillor C Cupit spoke against the motion. Council heard that whilst she supported the underlying aims of the motion, she could not support the wording of it. The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services clarified that developers were legally obliged to pay their section 106 contributions, however liquidation issues were in relation to the legal system rather than Government policy. The Leader of the Council had previously written to the Secretary of State as part of the response to the Planning White Paper Consultation outlining their frustrations and urged reform of the infrastructure system.
Councillor M Foster informed Council about a number of reforms he had initiated which included a traffic light system for monitoring section 106 payments. Members heard that the Planning Committee also considered the payments on a quarterly basis. The Portfolio Holder for Council Services insisted that regular discussions were taking place both at Committee level and at Council to ensure the effective regulation of payments from developers.
Councillor N Barker spoke in favour of the motion and argued that flaws remained within the system that allowed developers to avoid paying their agreed contributions to infrastructure developments.
Councillor D Hancock stated that he would like to see Government action to ensure that payments were made on time and in full, and that no harm would be done to see the Council write to the Secretary of State outlining its concerns. Councillor D Hancock would be voting for the motion.
Councillor R Shipman exercised his right of reply and explained that the motion aimed at addressing the problem of developers entering liquidation and then subsequently avoiding payments of section 106 contributions.
On being put to a vote, the motion was defeated.