Payments made by developers to the council for public benefit are mired in secrecy, meaning many wards are missing out on investment they are due, says Labour.

The issue came to a head at a meeting today when developer payments from the major Hungate development, known as section 106 payments, were directed away from the city centre to pay for a multi-use games area in Heworth Without ward, more than two miles way.

The proposal was first made at a Planning Committee meeting chaired by former Lib Dem councillor Ann Reid back in 2019, while today’s decision was rubber stamped by Lib Dem Executive Member Daryll Smalley to benefit his Lib Dem colleague Nigel Ayre’s ward.

Labour councillor representing Guildhall ward, Fiona Fitzpatrick, spoke at the meeting to highlight how her ward is being penalised.  She said:

“The original decision back in 2019 makes no sense to me, so I was very surprised to say the least to see it coming to a public meeting today for a decision.  I highlighted how unjust it will feel for the thousands of residents living in and around Hungate to see public money being funnelled off to a ward nowhere near Hungate.

“At the same time we’ve been crying out to use developer contributions to fund a new play area close to the Hungate site, and been told by council officers that we’re further down the list, with no date for when we’ll get this money.  The s106 system in York is broken and not serving its intended purpose”.

The MUGA proposal comes despite the council’s own evidence base for the city’s long-awaited Local Plan stating Heworth Without has a surplus of outdoor sports space of almost 11 hectares.

Opposition Labour Group Leader Cllr Claire Douglas also spoke about the opaqueness of the s106 payments system within the council.  She commented:

“The public’s understanding of developer payments at its most basic level is that those payments are supposed to benefit the immediate community near to a development, to make it acceptable in planning terms.

“This clearly isn’t the case here.  I’m angry that the system appears to have developed into a competitive one where certain councillors’ input gains favour and others don’t.  Guildhall residents will be rightly questioning why they are still waiting for certain developer payments several years after Hungate apartment blocks were completed.

“The system needs bringing out into the open so all councillors and residents of York can see exactly what money is available, and to allow greater input and scrutiny on how it is spent”.