Agenda item

Question:

I have a copy of the original agreement between WBC, Taylor Wimpy and Woodley Properties signed on the 2^nd May 2012.  It is quite interesting reading particular the section 7 which is all about Highways.  As is normal for a large development such as this (Sandford Farm, Woodley) the agreement includes developer contributions to Bus Service Enhancements which is £629,225, Travel Plan Purpose £122,326.40 and Infrastructure or other Transport Improvements £1,297,248.60.  A grand total of over £2 million which should have been spent in Woodley mitigating against the impact of this large development.

It also includes a clause which says that after 10 years any unused money can be used anywhere at WBC’s discretion. Well, the 10 years are now up so I would like to know how this large sum of money has been spent. So, can you please provide a full breakdown of all the projects that this money was spent on?

Question:

I have a copy of the original agreement between Wokingham Borough Council (WBC), Taylor Wimpy and Woodley Properties signed on the 2^nd May 2012. It is quite interesting reading particular the section 7 which is all about Highways. As is normal for a large development such as this (Sandford Farm) the agreement includes developer contributions to Bus Service Enhancements which is £629,225, Travel Plan Purpose £122,326.40 and Infrastructure or other Transport Improvements £1,297,248.60. A grand total of over £2 million which should have been spent in Woodley mitigating against the impact of this large development.

It also includes a clause which says that after 10 years any unused money can be used anywhere at WBC’s discretion. Well, the 10 years are now up so I would like to know how this large sum of money has been spent. So can you please provide a full breakdown of all the projects that this money was spent on.

Answer:

Thank you Keith for your question.  You are correct that there are separate clauses in relation to unspent funds for the Bus Service Enhancements and Travel Plan although not quite as you have described.  There is an associated deed of variation linked under planning reference 152651 that relates to an additional sum for public transport. 

The 10-year deadline is from receipt of the date of funds due/received and not the date of the agreement.  As many of these were paid in several instalments the 10-year expiry date varies for each instalment.  The earliest date for one being September 2024 and the money has already been spent.  The next to expire is in 2026 and the team have this in hand to ensure that the target date is met. 

There is a table, I will not go through it all, I will summarise it.

Highlighted within the table below is an overview of the funds spent to date and together with remaining allocation.

This should help demonstrate that the Officers have carried out their duties and enacted the associated agreements in respect of S106 funds.  The fund’s total greater than the £2m as there is indexation linked to the funds and payments in line with the legal agreements.

I trust this helps answer your question.

Supplementary Question:

I look forward to seeing that table.

I recall major comments from the administration about the bus services, generally in Wokingham, but specifically in Woodley, saying that there was no money to fund that so therefore they would have to restrict the service/withdraw the service – it is all the fault of the previous administration.  But clearly as you have just demonstrated, a large sum was actually available to fund the 19 service, which is a valuable question.  So, can I ask you for the future, because Woodley councillors have not had any information about this expenditure that you gone through, for the future, it is quite a large sum of £1million, can I get your commitment that you or your officer will engage with councillors of Woodley to understand how that is being spent before the fact and not after the fact?

Supplementary Answer:

Yes, I can certainly do that for you.