Bedford Borough Council could risk failing to collect some developer contributions linked to housing developments because hundreds of planning agreements have not yet been transferred into a new monitoring system, an internal audit report has warned.
Papers for the council’s Audit Committee meeting on Tuesday (17 March) say 260 Section 106 agreements recorded in the authority’s previous system had not yet been migrated into a newer monitoring platform called Exacom.
Section 106 agreements are legal obligations attached to planning permissions and are used to secure contributions from developers towards infrastructure such as schools, roads and community facilities linked to new housing.
According to the report, around £8 million in Section 106 contributions were received in the 2024/25 financial year.
However, the audit also found that five of the 13 new Section 106 agreements finalised during 2024/25 had not yet been entered into the Exacom system.
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The report says this followed the senior planning obligations monitoring officer being on long-term sick leave since September 2024, leaving the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 team operating at half capacity.
Auditors recommended ensuring all agreements are transferred into the Exacom system and monitored appropriately.
The recommendation is currently listed as “in progress”, with the report stating that 83 per cent of the first three stages of the transfer process had been completed.
Councillors will consider the report at the Audit Committee’s next meeting next week.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
