TRAFFORD Council has millions of unallocated cash to build affordable homes – and to make improvements to education facilities, highways, parks and green spaces.

Since 2012, developers have handed over more than £25million of section 106 money that should be spent on upgrading the area.

And while the authority has spent more than £19million – there are a number of outstanding financial agreements worth £17.6million where trigger points have not yet been met.

According to a council report £4.8million of that amount has already been earmarked to deliver the planned Metrolink expansion.

“Caution is advised when considering these figures as there is no guarantee that developments which have planning permission will definitely come forward,” the report read.

“These developments are continually monitored to make sure that as trigger points are met, appropriate action is taken to ensure the provisions of the agreements.”

However, despite the applications being monitored, more than £1.5m that has been set aside for affordable homes remains unspent.

A council spokesman said: “This money has not been earmarked towards a particular scheme(s) at the moment.

“However, in line with the council’s new housing strategy and the terms of each individual agreement we will identify ways in which it can be spent to best meet the borough’s affordable housing priorities.”

However, the council has also received more than £2million in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) since its introduction in 2014 – and, if the 121 developments that are in the pipeline materialise, that figure will double.

The government believes that CIL funding can deliver strategic infrastructure fairer, faster, provides more certainty and is more transparent than the current system of planning obligations under section 106 which are negotiated on a site by site basis.

It is also payable by all new development which relies on the infrastructure and not just by a few larger-scale schemes.

The council has produced a CIL list of projects that could benefit from the cash – and they include the Metrolink – and improvements to public transport in Carrington and Partington.

There are also plans to provide extra educational facilities in Carrington, Altrincham and Stretford.