Millions in developer contributions remain unaccounted for in Northamptonshire as thousands of homes are built, council confirms

West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) has said it will not complete a full, reconciled record of its Section 106 developer contributions until the end of 2026, almost five years after the authority was created.

Section 106 payments are made by developers to fund local infrastructure such as schools, roads, community facilities and open spaces, and are intended to offset the impact of new housing.

Tens of thousands of new homes are currently being built or planned across West Northamptonshire, but there is still no single public record showing how much Section 106 money the council has received since April 2021, how much has been spent, or what remains unallocated.

The data relates to contributions agreed under the former Northampton Borough Council, Daventry District Council and South Northamptonshire Council, which were replaced by WNC in April 2021.

An initial Freedom of Information request submitted in summer 2024 by this newspaper was refused, with the council saying the information was intended for future publication. At the time, it said work to align the data would be completed by November 2024.

Further requests and chasers throughout 2025 were met with responses stating the information was still “not in a format to disclose”.

In a response finally issued in January 2026, a WNC spokesman said: “The legacy councils’ Section 106 data was amalgamated in 2023, and the reconciliation exercise is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

“Details of Section 106 expenditure are published within the council’s transparency spend data, although where Section 106 is used to finance full or part capital projects this may not be clearly identified.

“Currently, we provide data in response to individual Section 106 queries via email. In 2026, we will develop a self-serve portal and streamline the council’s website to provide a more customer-focused experience.

“The council is committed to transparency and is expected to complete reconciliation by the end of 2026. In parallel, we have established a group of volunteer parish and local councils to help test and improve our processes and webpages, and to help test the self-serve portal.

“The 2024/25 Infrastructure Funding Statement will be completed and the required statutory data will be provided. We are aiming for further detail on Section 106 income and expenditure to be available in spring 2026.”