£1.7 million set for Salford schools from new developments • Salford City Council

Seven Salford schools are benefitting from more than £1.7million of funding that Salford City Council has secured from new developments.

The allocation of the Section 106 funding was approved by the council this month.

More than £677,000 has been allocated to the Deans Primary School in Swinton to help with the previous expansion and relocation of the school.

Wharton Primary School in Little Hulton has received just over £635,000 towards incurred expansion costs and more than £288,000 has been allocated towards St Luke’s CE Primary School to contribute towards the relocation of the school.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “It is fantastic to be able to allocate Section 106 funding towards our local schools. The money is vital as the schools expand to cope with the demand for places and a growing population in our city.

“At Salford City Council, we have a proven track record of securing Section 106 money from developers to help mitigate the impact of development on our local communities. We have secured more than £30 million since 2010 and it is spent on providing affordable homes, park upgrades, footpaths, nature reserves, schools and public art to name just a few.”

New development can generate the need for new or improved facilities, services or infrastructure. Section 106 agreements are used to secure planning obligations to mitigate the impacts of new development that cannot be dealt with through conditions in the planning permission. In each of these cases a financial contribution has been made.

City Mayor Paul Dennett added: “Whilst this is positive for communities, national planning policy continues to create considerable challenges to local authorities. Salford strives to collect full contributions to support the resources and infrastructure communities need following new development, but national planning policy on viability assessments prioritises developer profits and land value over community benefits.”

The money for the Deans Primary School was provided from a development at Campbell Road in Swinton. More than £257,000 has already been provided by a Section 106 contribution from a development on Agecroft Road. Wharton Primary School was provided with £300,000 from the former Eaton works development in Walkden and in excess of £335,000 from a scheme at Highclove Lane. The allocation to St Luke’s CE Primary School takes the contribution from the Former Hope High School site to just over £379,000 to add to £394,000 that has previously been spent from a development on Weaste Lane. Smaller amounts were also directed to recent improvements at a further four primary schools.