More than £18m collected from developers was used to expand or improve the provision of services by the county council in Hertfordshire last year, according to the latest data.

But those figures also show that almost £88m of developer contributions collected by the council over a number of years has yet to be spent.

Developers can be required to make a financial contribution to a council – known as a 'Section 106′ agreement' – for infrastructure that's required to mitigate the impact of a particular development.

And – depending on the agreement- those funds can be used to support services such as educational provision, adult care services, libraries or transport.

According to the council's latest Infrastructure Funding Statement, £18.7m of these developer contributions were put towards the delivery of 136 projects in 2023/24.

These included £2.5m towards Buntingford First School and £6.6m towards Mandeville Primary School, in Sawbridgeworth.

And they included £150,202 spent on 17 libraries across the county including in Borehamwood, Bishop's Stortford, Tring and London Colney.

Almost £1.7m was spent on 59 transport projects in the county, £80,352 on waste and £33,957 on youth projects.

The 2023/24 Infrastructure Funding Statement – which has been published by the county council – shows £27.9m in developer contributions was collected by the council last year.

But it also records that at the end of March (2024) the council held £87.4m of 'unspent' S106 funding.

Earlier this month concerns were raised by the Home Builders Federation about the amount of Section 106 monies that were being held by councils across the country.

And they estimated that nationally £6bn from Section 106 agreements is being held in local authority bank accounts.

Hertfordshire County Council addresses the level of 'unspent' contributions in its own Infrastructure Funding Statement.

According to the Statement the 'unspent' funding is allocated to infrastructure projects.

But, it says, those projects may be dependent on the delivery of cumulative housing sites to trigger demand or be dependant on other funding mechanisms to support delivery.

It says the projects may have been delayed due to a change in local demographics or they may be under way and funding not yet drawn down.

Specifically the Statement points to £55.8m of the unspent funding that is being held for new schools or school expansions – where the allocation is only part of the funding required.

And it identifies, for example, £2m held for two new secondary schools in Ware, £1.7m for Edwinstree Middle School, £4m for Royston First School and £3.2m for Spencers Park.

Commenting on the amount held by Hertfordshire County Council, a county council spokesperson said the funds were not always used immediately.

But he said the council would continue to use the funds effectively and in a timely manner.

"Like most councils, we collect and hold S106 funding (from housing developers) to ensure it is used effectively for the benefit of local communities," said the spokesperson.

"In the last ten years, we have received more than £181m of such funding and spent £145m, the vast majority on new school buildings.

"We don't always spend it immediately, as we wait until sufficient funding has accumulated to begin construction work, and schedule completion for the appropriate time.

"As an example, the county council collected and held funding for a number of years to support the expansion of Mandeville Primary School, in Sawbridgeworth.

"The expansion project was opened earlier this year and was a recipient of £6.6m of developer contributions – which equates to 93 per cent of the total project cost.

"We will continue to take an approach that uses these funds effectively and in a timely manner."