Section 106 Money

Recent articles in national newspapers have highlighted the practice that some local councils have adopted re stock-piling S106 monies.  Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on- Trent were called to account some years ago for retaining several million pounds rather than spending the money on improving the locality where the development was taking place. Nationally the practice continues. 

More recently it was discovered that Betley Parish Council had not claimed the £47,000 (the commuted sum for the former Bluebell Inn development in Wrinehill.  So it reverted to Newcastle-under-Lyme who have claimed that it was spent elsewhere in the borough. 

More recently £11,158 was reserved by Newcastle-under-Lyme to resurface the Betley Village Hall carpark (S106 money from the former garage site development in Wrinehill.) 

When the issue was first raised in a Parish council meeting in 2024 it was ignored.  When it was raised a second and third time the issue was deferred and for some reason referred to the questionable Finance and Audit Committee of the Parish Council (now defunct/disbanded) to work out a project with the Village Hall. If it has materialised it has yet not been mentioned by the PC and has yet to be implemented.  It is understood that this money has a five -10 year period in which it can be claimed.  If not it disappears into the local council coffers.  The Wrinehill Garage site sum was raised from 2017 so its time limit of 10 years is almost up. 

Unfortunately,the whole process is shrouded in secrecy and even requests for information using the Freedom of Information Act are met with silence or obfuscation and/or unreasonable delays.           

The PC precepts a regular sum for the Information Commissioner (£35). It would be interesting to know what this is for, since this is the Office which is supposed to regulate the FOI Act, and is supposed to ensure that government organisations/ administrations obey the rules.

Ultimately, Parish and Borough Councils are not above the law!  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Help Needed

 this was sent to me this morning by the Lead of the Footpaths Working Party Councillor Amanda Berrisford: On Thursday 9th May (tomorrow) Nigel Hopkins from SCC rural team is coming to install the remaining two Kissing gates at the Ditch opposite Frank Speeds and the Stile held up with strin g on H Kennerely's land. He has informed me there are no volunteers available and so I am putting a shout out to you all  with the details to see if you can help in any way.  I am out all day today so do not have the time to call the people on our list.  I do not want to put out on the facebook page as we may get too many folk (going forward that would be great) however, we only have a couple of hrs so on this occasion a small productive team would be best.    I am Meeting Nige at the H&T at 10.am then we shall enter the field opposite Betley Court Farm and take his truck to the furthest point where then we have to carry the tools a short ...
Read more

When a Hearing is not a Hearing

 Anyone attempting to follow the Hearing of 30 April 2024 might have found it difficult to follow since the microphones were not working properly neither were the subtitles up to scratch.  'Councillor' was transcribed as 'Chancellor', for example - and that was the least of it.  Trying to follow what was being said using the subtitles was therefore not only difficult but almost impossible.  The text presented to the hearing is below:    I am attending this hearing because it is important to know what it is that I am being accused of. The Monitoring Officer in June 2023 asked the complainants to provide him with the 'specifics'   - ie the evidence to support their allegations.     Without it, he stated   he could not proceed.   It has taken two years and a new MO to arrive at this point.   2024 is a different country, it seems.       If evidence was submitted, then I have not seen it.   I have looked at ...
Read more

Removal

  I recently received  a notice from the Clerk of Betley Parish Council (see below) but, 'Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the sons of the uncircumcised triumph. with an apology to (2 Samuel v19). I would like to thank everyone who gave support over the past three years, much appreciated, and to say that it was a pleasure and privilege to have been a Councillor for WrinehilI.  Given the set up of the Parish Council and the state of play it was impossible to represent you in the way that I would have wished or that Wrinehill deserved.  The odds of  12 - 1 was not conducive to  turning things around to ensure fair play, equitable distribution of resources, accountability and transparency.   Under the grimmest of  circumstances that I have ever encountered, I did what I could.  I had every intention and determination to remain until 2026 until fate interve...
Read more