The Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) was scheduled to meet to discuss the Infrastructure Funding Statement, and to consider their work programme for the coming year. Councillor David Lee Bawn was scheduled to chair the meeting, with Councillor Angie Scott as vice-chair.

Infrastructure Funding Statement

Councillor Colin Horncastle, Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, was expected to attend the meeting to discuss the council's Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) for 2024-2025.

The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations require all planning authorities that use Section 106¹ planning obligations to publish a yearly statement. The statement was scheduled to include a breakdown of all Section 106 funds for each of the five Local Area Committees (LACs).

The report noted that Northumberland County Council is not a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging authority. As such, the IFS focuses on Section 106 agreements.

The IFS was scheduled to be issued to the MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) and displayed on the council's website before 31 December 2025.

According to the executive summary of the S106 Infrastructure Funding Statement IFS 2024-2025:

The total amount of money to be provided under any planning obligations which were entered during the reported year is £3,250,100.06

The total amount of money received from planning obligations during the reported year was £9,002,514.40

These contributions will play a critical role in delivering much needed affordable housing and necessary infrastructure and mitigation measures, including education, healthcare, sport and play and coastal mitigation.

The delivery of 93 affordable homes have been agreed in the reported year along with 28 school places.

The total amount of money retained at the end of the reported year is £24,831,318.83 The Council will work to ensure the money is effectively and lawfully spent.

The IFS also included case studies, background to developer contributions to the Coastal Mitigation Service, and an example affordable housing scheme.

Spending priorities

The report stated that developer contributions will be used to deliver strategic policies including:

• Affordable Housing - Supporting the delivery of affordable homes is a priority for the council.
• Coastal Mitigation Service – Increased recreation-related disturbance on the coast is a particular concern because most of the Northumberland coast is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Northumberland Coastal Mitigation Service is a developer-funded warden service to protect the coastal environment.
• Education provision – New housing generates additional pupils, and contributions may be required to expand capacity at nearby schools.
• Healthcare provision – There are known capacity constraints in some parts of the county in respect of primary health care such as GP practices.
• Open space and sport and play - The provision of open space, sport and play varies across the county and developer contributions will be sought where appropriate.

Section 106 Funds collected for each Local Area

The report included figures on the total of S106 funds collected for each local area since contributions were recorded by Northumberland County Council (circa 2012 onwards to present day). These areas are:

• North Northumberland
• Tynedale
• Castle Morpeth
• Cramlington, Bedlington and Seaton Valley
• Ashington and Blyth

Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme

The committee was asked to consider its work programme for the 2025/26 council year.

The terms of reference for the committee include maintaining an overview of management agreements between the council and providers of leisure and tourism services. They also include reviewing the impact and effectiveness of any policy proposed or adopted by the council in the following areas:

• Public Safety
• Culture, Leisure and Tourism
• Roads and Highways
• Environment, Rural and Farming
• Housing and Planning

The Work Programme included a list of issues to be timetabled or considered, including:

• BEST Review of Regulation and Enforcement
• Tree and Woodland Strategy
• Library Service Review
• Community Risk Management Plan 2026-30
• Section 38 Road Adoptions
• Member Small Schemes Overview
• Grounds Maintenance Review
• Highways Maintenance Update
• Civil Contingencies

The Work Programme also provided an overview of what the committee looked into last year, including highways maintenance, the North East Local Transport Plan, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service Annual Performance, Storm Resilience, the Great Northumberland Forest, Library Service Redesign and Development, and Places for People Leisure.

Forward Plan of Cabinet Decisions

The committee was scheduled to note the schedule of decisions made by the Cabinet since the last meeting, together with the latest Forward Plan of key decisions.

The Forward Plan included the following key decisions scheduled for January to April 2026:

• Council Tax Base 2026-27
• Environment Policy Statement Action Plan Update
• Newcastle International Airport - Governance Arrangements
• Summary of New Capital Proposals considered by Capital Strategy Group
• Budget 2026-27, Medium Term Financial Plan 2026-30 and 30 Year Business Plan for the Housing Revenue Account
• Corporate Plan 2026-2030
• Biodiversity Planning and Reporting
• Notification of the Estimated Collection Fund Balances 2025-26 – Council Tax and Business Rates
• Setting the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) 2026-27
• Blyth Relief Road - Authority to make a Compulsory Purchase Order and Side Road Order
• Energy Central Campus Phase 2: Energy Central Institute
• Hardware and Software Framework Agreements – Permission to Tender and Award Contracts
• School Admission Arrangements
• Service Redesign - Libraries and Customer Services
• Sale of the former Astley High & Whytrig Middle School site
• Adoption of the North Pennines National Landscape Management Plan 2026-2031
• Financial Performance 2025-26 - Position at the end of December 2025
• Wansbeck Square Gateway - Business Case