More than £9bn in unspent developer contributions is being held by councils, the Home Builders' Federation (HBF) has found.
A Freedom of Information survey revealed since mid-2024 there has been a 9% (£800m) increase in the amount of unspent developer contributions and local authorities have been sitting on roughly £3bn of the funds for more than five years.
The HBF also warned of ‘increasing concerns about inefficiencies in spending and delivery'.
HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson said: ‘The balance of unspent developer contributions rising to £9bn in local authority accounts provides further evidence of a capacity crisis in local government and should be a major cause of concern for communities and for ministers. The underutilisation of developer contributions is a damming indictment on the ability of councils to deliver to their communities.'
