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00:00Over the last decade or two, Medway has seen some large-scale developments across its towns.
00:06After planning permission is given, a legal agreement is signed between the developer and the local authority.
00:12It's to give community money to the local area to offset the burden of whatever they're building.
00:19Now here in Gillingham, this play park was funded by Section 106 contributions.
00:24However, as a whole, not all of the money contributed over the last 12 years has been spent.
00:31Maggie Francis first became aware of this 10 years ago.
00:35Well, people have to have homes. We know that. We all started out somewhere.
00:38She was fighting against a housing developer's appeal, now built and overlooking her home.
00:45Since then, she has sent more than 1,000 emails, fired freedom at information requests and held meetings to try and find out where the money has gone.
00:54I'm disgusted. Absolutely disgusted. I've been asking for years to see what this money is being spent on.
01:02It's almost as if it's a hot potato and everybody's passing it around and nobody wants to catch it.
01:07What is it that you want Medway Council to tell you?
01:11Nobody's told me anything. Nobody has ever told me that I'm wrong.
01:15Nobody's ever asked me, until you've come along, why I'm asking these questions.
01:20And it's almost as if, just move along here, nothing to see here, just ignore her and she'll go away.
01:27I think they're discovering that I'm not going away.
01:31It's been revealed that the total unspent money stacks up to £19.5 million since 2013.
01:38When it comes to health-related projects, out of the 40 agreements signed, only two have been spent.
01:45Some of this money is set aside to improving GP services in the towns.
01:50Medway Council says it takes time and planning to spend contributions,
01:54but the team continues to work with those services and third-party partners to ensure funds are utilised appropriately.
02:00It's also understood that there's frustration with the local NHS Integrated Care Board over collecting the funding from the authority.
02:08The ICB says when there is an identified and approved project to allocate the funding to,
02:13there can be a significant time lag between the S106 contribution being secured through the planning application,
02:19the development starting and getting to the stage where the contribution is due.
02:23And nationally, it's thought £8 billion worth of this money is being held by councils, according to the Home Builders Federation.
02:31What's more, there are time limits, meaning if it's not spent, the developer can request it back.
02:37Gabriel Morris, in Medway.