Burnley calls for gain cash

At a full council meeting this week, Labour member Tony Lambert suggested that the unspent planning gain cash be used to revive a capital opportunities fund.

This would give each ward £10,000 to be spent on neighbourhood improvements. "The money is not being used for what it should be. It should not be in the bank," Lambert said.

But Liberal Democrat executive member for finance and legal Margaret Lishman said the council was advised that using section 106 money for schemes other than those agreed would be unlawful and developers could ask for their contributions back.

"The claim that the council has squirreled away more than £1 million is nonsense. We make no apologies for negotiating for section 106 money and then putting it to good use for local people.

"Over the past two years, £1.1 million has been contributed by developers towards a wide range of projects to help communities," Lishman said.

Earlier this year, Planning revealed that around £1.25 billion of developer contributions is lying unspent (Planning, 22 February, p1).