Councils face £7 billion section 106 cut

Councils are facing a funding gap of up to £7 billion this year because of a fall in section 106 contributions. EC Harris consultancy estimated that the fall in anticipated income from ‘planning gain’ deals where developers agree to provide affordable housing in return for planning permission, will get worse. A spokesperson said that as most section 106 contributions were from residential developments, they expect the value would fall below £2 billion for the next few years as fewer schemes get started, and this is likely to force the government to fill the funding gap.