Councils in England and Wales are sitting on £2.8bn of section 106 money, despite financial pressures facing local government.
Research by the Home Builders Federation across more than 170 councils found that, on average, local authorities had £8m in unspent developer contributions to local infrastructure improvements and housing.
Across England and Wales, the figures suggest that councils have about £567m earmarked for affordable housing, enough to fund the construction of nearly 7,000 new “social” homes.
A further £420m held in unspent education contributions and £384m on unspent highways contributions is sitting in coffers, along with another £334m designated for social infrastructure, which would pay for 1,900 community games areas.
Freedom of information requests found that councils in parts of the country with the greatest housing need were among those with the biggest underspends. Kensington and Chelsea, for example, had £20m unspent for social housing, while Leeds City Council had an underspend of £17m.
South Gloucestershire Council had the biggest underspend at £58.2m.
The HBF has called for the money to be spent within the agreed time limit and for local authorities to be compelled to publish reasons why it has not been spent.
