The huge financial boost that new housing developments can bring to a local area has been confirmed in an annual report published by Knowsley Council.
The Council’s annual Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) documents the payments agreed, received, and spent from Section 106 (S106) agreements during 2021/22. The figure for Knowsley during this time exceeds £21 million.
S106 agreements are legal agreements between the local authority and private developers who apply for planning permission for housing developments. The agreements recognise the impact large scale developments will have on a local area, its infrastructure and facilities. They set out specific improvements and projects in the area which will be funded by the developer. This can include investments into local roads, parks, sports provision, schools and more.
Cllr Tony Brennan, Knowsley Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development commented: “When you total up the amount of investment coming into Knowsley as a result of our housebuilding programme, it is quite remarkable. These contributions from developers allow more improvements to made in our local area, including roads, creating additional school places, enhancing our parks, improving sporting provision and more. This investment is going directly into the local area – into the facilities and infrastructure that our current and future residents will benefit from.”
Since 2010 more than 6765 homes (of which 1608 are affordable homes) have been built in Knowsley across a number of locations. Currently, major developments are underway across the borough including at Halsnead Garden Village near Whiston and at the East of Halewood Development which, when complete, will deliver more than 2900 new homes combined
Knowsley’s ambitious housebuilding programme is a key part of its Growth Strategy developed by the Council in conjunction with the Knowsley Place Board.
Knowsley Place Board, consisting of private sector businesses, investors and developers, worked closely with the Council in developing their Growth Strategy and setting out major targets for development and expansion within the borough. That plan and vision wasn’t just about expanding the borough and providing new homes for people to live in but also about improving the local area for everyone’s benefit and making it sustainable in the long term.
Thanks to Knowsley’s ambitious strategy, the borough is now benefitting from multi-million investment – which otherwise simply wouldn’t have happened. Its great news for the borough and for everyone living here now and in the future.
Knowsley’s current IFS summarises all S106 Agreements between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.