Thurston
The Parish Council is sharing with members of the public, clarification on the S106 contributions received by Suffolk County Council (SCC) for highway mitigation works associated with development in the Thurston area.
The data listed below was received via email on 12 June 2024 and permission has been given to disseminate the information to the parishioners of Thurston.
S106 Contributions
Suffolk County Council hold S106 contributions from a number of sites in the Thurston area. A few important pointsare listed below which will hopefully provide some context as to the situation SCC are currently in:
Each site has come forward at different times, again providing challenges to SCC with regards to looking for area wide improvements. This is also compounded by when the payment of S106 contributions is made with some on commencement and some at pre-agreed trigger points during the build out of houses, both of which prevent SCC from committing to begin preparations for the delivery of the infrastructure until all the money is received.
Specifically relevant to Thurston, where more than one developer is contributing to a piece of infrastructure, SCC have to wait until those sites have come forward and all made their contributions before beginning design and construction.
Flexibility has been written into the S106 agreements for these sites which allows the county council to move funding between projects in the area as required.
The above, will hopefully help all understand why it appears that infrastructure improvements are lagging behind the pace of house building in the area, compounded by the fact that Suffolk County Council have had to wait for multiple sites to contribute to highway improvements.
S106 Highway Contributions received to date
Below is a summary of the total S106 contributions SCC have received to date for highway improvements:
· Linden Homes/Vistry Homes = £212,070.50
· Persimmon Hones = £152,783.99
· Hopkins Homes = £97,830.19
· Bloor Homes = 84,603.66
· Traffic Regulations Orders (TROs) £24,326 (combined across all developers)
S106 Highway Contributions yet to be recevied
S106 highway related contributions yet to be received:
· Laurence Homes = £122,855
· Ixworth Road Site = TBD based on outcome of appeal.
The contributions agreed are flexible, in that the agreements are worded in such a way that allows the county council flexibility as to how to distribute the funding across the projects identified.
List of highway improvements for the area
To keep things simple, SCC has provided a list of the highway improvements agreed for the area as follows:
· Bunbury Arms Junction Improvements
· Fishwick Corner Junction Improvements
· Station Road/Norton Road Pedestrian Crossing and junction improvements
· Norton Road Zebra Crossings
· Speed Limit Extensions on Ixworth Road, Fishwick Corner, Barton Road & Norton Road
· Public Rights of Way Improvements for walking, wheeling and cycling
Update on progress:
Bunbury Arms junction - SCC are preparing design for the Bunbury Arms junction, this is with their contractors, Milestone to develop. SCC are waiting for the outcome of some site investigations with utility companies to understand what they are able to do and progress the design. Their plan is to have a design completed by the end of the calendar year with a view to starting works on site towards the end of the financial year.
Fishwick Corner – It has been agreed with Bloor Homes that the improvements at this location will be delivered through a S278 agreement the developer. SCC are currently awaiting a timescale from them as to when these works will be begin.
Station Road/Norton Road pedestrian crossing and junction improvements – The extent of the works required at this junction have been agreed with the developer and will be delivered via a S278 agreement with the developer. At present, SCC do not have any further information about when the works will commence.
SCC have delivered the two zebra crossings on Norton Road.
Speed limit extensions – These are in various states of delivery, some are at design stage, some are with their legal team to draft traffic regulation orders and others are with their contractors for delivery. They do however remain committed to delivering these as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Public Rights of Way Improvements – This work is currently with the Public Rights of Way Team to develop and deliver the schemes so approved. The timescales will vary as to when this work will progress.
