Cornwall Council has more than £19million of unspent money to fund projects such as schools, parks and roads.

Developers have to pay money to the councillors in the form of Section 106 (S106) agreements, which are drawn up to secure planning permission for developments.

The money paid is allocated to specific expenditure and can be used for everything from building new roads to providing parks and new classrooms.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, Cornwall Council has revealed that, as of March, it was holding £19,641,009 of unspent S106 money.

However it also revealed that over the last five years the council has received £30,244,952 in S106 payments.

The council also revealed that in the last five years it has spent £23,494,433 in S106 money.

Some councils elsewhere in the country have had to repay S106 money to developers because it was not spent within a set time period, usually five years.

Leicestershire County Council, for example, had to repay almost £900,000. However Cornwall Council said that in the last five years it has not had to return a single penny to developers.

Bob Egerton, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for planning and economy, said that this was a sign that the council was “doing something right”.

He said that S106 can be a “complicated area” for the council to deal with.

“Section 106 money can be for a variety of different things, like highways, education and open spaces and the way that money is allocated differs.

“For open spaces that is one of the easiest things to do, as usually you have a development in a village, say, and you can put that money into a play area in the village. It is relatively easy.

“Highways is fairly specific with how that money will be spent and the highways department will decide that in consultation with local members.

“Education is more difficult as you will get, say, £100,000 from the development but that doesn’t buy you a lot, it doesn’t buy you a classroom.

“The council has to find a way to make sure it is spent in the area but it may not be in the same village as the development. In Probus, for example, you would expect any education funding from a development in Probus to go to Probus School, but you might spend it at the Roseland Academy as children from Probus will go there.”

Mr Egerton said that the council’s team working with S106 sometimes have a difficult job with administering the money as it may not actually be paid to the council long after planning permission is first granted.

He said: “It takes quite a bit of juggling as it can take years to be delivered.

“I know that some councillors have concerns about how Section 106 money is collected and spent but in many cases it might not happen for a long time.

“A developer might get planning permission but may not start building for two or three years and then there are clauses which mean that the money doesn’t have to be paid until say the 40th house is built.

“It can be four or five years before the money actually comes across. Sometimes after that period of time the project that the money was allocated for may not be the best use of that funding so it may have to be altered to ensure that we get the best and most benefit from it.

“We have officers constantly monitoring it and dealing with the various departments of the council to make sure it is done properly.

“Overall we are reasonably confident that it is working right and we are keeping local members and town and parish councils aware of what it is being used for and making sure that the money is being collected.”