The proposed Section 106 contributions will only provide a maximum of £12.2 million for education, falling well short of the £16.9 million required to provide sufficient nursery and school places for the new community. This leaves a funding gap of approximately £4.7 million, putting the future provision of local school and early years places at serious risk. Due to delivery timescales, any shortfall in infrastructure funding will become a liability that any successor council will ultimately have to absorb.
Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and SEND, said:
“It is vital that all families in Ipswich have access to nurseries and schools, and that new developments meet the cost of the additional demand they create. Without full funding, many families will be forced to travel outside their neighbourhood to access a school place, and the Local Education Authority will be at risk of being unable to meet its statutory duty to provide sufficient childcare and school places.”
Suffolk County Council has already called on Ipswich Borough Council to reconsider and reprioritise infrastructure contributions in favour of education, reviewing all contributions to ensure the needs of children and families are met.
The County Council warned back in October that, without this, it cannot support the current planning application and would consider its legal position regarding any Section 106 agreement that does not address these concerns. Ipswich Borough Council has refused and is pushing to approve the plans with the shortfall left unresolved.
Councillor Reid, continued:
“Suffolk County Council has no option but to formally object to these plans. The County Council does not take this step lightly and we understand the pressure Ipswich Borough Council is under to meet housing targets, but the basis for our objection is clear and in line with national planning policy – the wellbeing of children and families must come first.”
