During the period 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2020, S106 contributions were received under various legal agreements. We acknowledge that these funds were collected, and in many cases, expended.
Please confirm:
1. The total value of S106 contributions received during this period that remain unspent and are no longer capable of being lawfully spent.
2. For each instance, the amount held and the relevant planning application reference.
3. Whether any such funds are subject to repayment to developers or require renegotiation due to the expiry of the relevant obligations.
4. Confirmation that these funds are held within your accounts and are clearly recorded and linked to the relevant planning application references and S106 agreements.
This information is exempt from disclosure under Regulation 12(4) (b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (Manifestly Unreasonable).
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance regarding Regulation 12 (4) (b) explains that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Appropriate Cost limit of 18 hours of officer time or £450 can be used as a “useful guide” or indicator when estimating the cost implications of answering a request that is being processed under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. For Devon County Council to provide the requested information, would require data from both Capital and Revenue finance systems. These systems hold in excess of 700 payments for S106 payments across the 6 years requested. Each would need to be manually reviewed to establish when it was paid, how much is remaining, and identifying the repayment date for the Section 106. With over 700 records with an estimated review time of 5 minutes each, this would total 58 hours.
The Council has considered the public interest in releasing this information and recognises there is a public interest in openness and transparency. However, there is a stronger public interest in not diverting staff resources from their core functions for the prolonged period of time it would take to answer this request.