All significant housing developments come with an S106 agreement (part of the Town and Country Planning Act of 1990) – a legal agreement between local authority and developers to compensate the community for the impact of the housing. One component of this is typically towards Parks and Open Space. In Whitby there is below minimum standard of green space in terms of quantity as well as quality.
Funding Receipt and Spend
We have looked at the S106 contributions pulled in from developers over the last few years, and how the money is being spent. The following table shows all Parks / Open Space payments received, as well as what has actually been spent.
[This data was obtained via FOI in April 2026, and the results of which are embodied in this spreadsheet].
| Development | Spend Type | Amount Received (£) | Amount Spent (£) | Spend Location | Amount Committed (£) | Amount Available (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eskdale Park | Sports | 50,000 | 50,000 | Boxing Club Refurb (2023) | 0 | 0 |
| Broomfield Phase 1 (Barratts/DavidWilson) | Sports | 147,891 | 0 | 0 | 147,891 | |
| Green Lane (Wharfedale) | Urban Parks | 29,927 | 0 | 0 | 29,927 | |
| Green Lane (Wharfedale) | Play Areas | 60,447 | 0 | 0 | 60,447 | |
| The Garth | Amenity | 9,872 | 0 | 0 | 9,872 | |
| The Garth | Play Areas | 11,633 | 0 | 0 | 11,633 | |
| Highfield Road | Sports | 2,380 | 0 | 0 | 2,380 | |
| Highfield Road | Urban Parks | 8,331 | 7,441 | White Leys Play Area (2020) | 0 | 890 |
| Shackleton Close | Sports | 37,384 | 11,446 | ? | 0 | 25,938 |
| 13-14 Royal Crescent | Sports | 4,198 | 0 | 0 | 4,198 | |
| 13-14 Royal Crescent | Urban Parks | 4,946 | 0 | 0 | 4,946 | |
| Scoresby View (McCarthy Stone) | Urban Parks | 15,023 | 0 | 0 | 15,023 | |
| Scoresby View (McCarthy Stone) | Sports | 17,702 | 0 | 0 | 17,702 | |
| Total | 399,733 | 68,887 | 0 | 330,846 |
Note that the development of Broomfield Phase 2 (Stonebridge Homes) will also add £141,430 (index linked) by the time 125 homes are occupied, to be spent on any type of open space / sports – not included in the table.
As a summary, of around £400k brought in via the S106 route for Parks / Open Space in the last 9 years, just £69k has been spent. With another £141k due before long, that represents a substantial amount available.
Addressing the Issues?
If we go back to the SBC Green Space Audit of 2014, we find the following recommendations
- There needs to be an emphasis on protection and enhancement of existing open spaces with new provision provided through development where possible.
- Seek to enhance the quality of Stakesby Vale, which failed to meet the relevant quality standard when assessed through the audit.
- Seek to enhance the quality of West Cliff, which failed to meet the relevant quality standard when assessed through the audit.
- Seek to enhance the quality of those play areas which failed to meet the relevant quality standards when assessed through the audit. These are as follows: Byland Road; and St. Peters.
It has to be noted that not one of these recommendations has been addressed.
We have had just 3 spends
- The refurbishment of the Boxing Club at Eastside.
- The White Leys Play Area.
- and an unknown spend of £11,446 on sports related work (tennis courts?).
The supposed provision of £6,000 for the replacement Dundas Gardens play area is not listed – we question whether this is going ahead as a result.
The recommendation to enhance the quality of Stakesby Vale green corridor would be largely achieved with a replacement of the appalling path through that area. This is something that the Whitby Local Cycle Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) requires – surely some of these funds could go a significant way towards delivering that?
The Calla Beck natural green area has had no investment over the last few years with the result that the art trail from the early 2000’s is unrecognisable, and the “path” is impassable by the less able-bodied.
When green space is poor quality it is under utilised (and leads to lack of pride in place). That leads to poorer health and well-being. The only way to address this is to make use of the available funds – they were not brought in for NYC to sit on.
2 thoughts on “Whitby S106 “Parks / Open Space” Fund Utilisation”
Disgrace it took an FOI to have this information. Yet another tranche of Whitby money going into the (Ex SBC) NYC coffers. As a good deal of the money was taken during SBC days I suspect it was spent on Scarborough town. Imagine this will be passed to our local “Scarborough” MP.
Unbelievable! But sadly no more than expected.