DEVELOPERS seeking to build housing estates consisting of more than ten homes in Barnsley will have to pay extra cash to increase local schools’ capacities - or risk having their applications thrown out under new rules.
Ruling cabinet members met on Wednesday and approved a revised version of the financial contributions for educational provision, known formally as a supplementary planning document (SPD).
When developers build new homes, an influx of school places are needed for children and so Section 106 agreements - which sees cash set aside for loss of amenity - are signed.
The updated SPD makes the rules around these payments clearer, more up to date and in line with new government guidance from the Department for Education, the council said.
Developers will now be required to pay £17,500 for a single primary school place - up from £16,202 - and £24,500 for a secondary school place, up from £16,056.
A report said: “This is the calculation that will apply in the majority of cases.
“However, there may be cases where a different approach is needed, depending on what factors are affecting the capacity of the school.
“For example, if a whole new school is needed and the developer does not want to build this directly, then the contributions required may be different from the figure arrived at using this calculation.
“Once collected, the money will be held in a a children’s services account specifically set aside for financial contributions to schools.
“It will then be spent on the works identified in the planning obligation as soon as possible.
“The obligation will include a date by which the contribution must have been spent.
“This will normally be ten years from the date the contribution was received by the council.
“If it has not been spent by the specified time, then the remaining amount will be returned, including the council’s standard rate of interest.
“New houses give rise to the need for additional educational provision, facilities and places, including early years and special educational needs and disabilities provision.
“However, educational settings do not always have spare provision, places and adequate facilities for new pupils.
“Planning applications for new homes will be refused unless educational settings already have sufficient capacity to accommodate new pupils from the development or enough extra places can be created to accommodate them.
“Developers can make a financial contribution to the Council to provide physical space needed to accommodate new pupil places at the local early years or school setting that would serve the new housing development. This space could be either classroom or other accommodation such as a new hall or sensory area depending on what is needed to facilitate the intake of new children.
“This allows development to go ahead and means that pupils children can attend an educational setting local to where they live.
“Alternatively, a developer may wish to directly build an extension to a local educational setting to provide the new space needed.
“In this case special arrangements will need to be agreed with the council and set out in a planning obligation legal agreement.”
