Plans to unlock £27.5m of developer contributions

Oxfordshire County Council say the plan will "unlock" £27.5m of Section 106 funding

A new scheme to allow developer contributions towards local infrastructure to be spent more quickly has been approved by a council.

Section 106 (S106) funding is a condition of planning consent and is used to pay for things like new roads, schools and healthcare facilities to prevent developments placing an increased burden on the local area.

Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet approved the plan, which it says will "unlock" £27.5m, at a meeting on Tuesday.

By investing £4m of additional funding, the council said it now aimed to fast-track 33 schemes that "otherwise faced delays due to various barriers and funding gaps".

Among the schemes that are now set to go ahead are 16 active travel projects, two bus improvement plans and five traffic calming and village improvements.

Councillor Judy Roberts, the authority's chief of Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: "Our S106 reserves have been in the spotlight in recent years, and it is only right and proper that public money comes under this high level of scrutiny."

She said the council was "proud" of its record at securing funding contributions from developers to "pay for the infrastructure that communities need".

"However, the process of making sure that money is spent promptly is far from simple," she explained.

"That's why we are continually investigating ways of speeding up the delivery process for the benefit of residents."

"This accelerated delivery plan should help unlock the funding required to enable work to begin on these much-needed projects."