MORE than £4 million is in Bury Council's coffers to fund green and leisure projects.

That is according to a new report which monitors the standing of Section 106 payments.

When developers build things and cannot factor in green space, they must pay a forfeit allowing the council to do so nearby.

Town-hall chiefs might spend it on public artwork, play areas, parks or other schemes that would improve the neighbourhood.

The report said that £1.3 million of such payments were made in the 12 months up to the end of March.

"The total amount of Section 106 held by the council as of March 31 stands at £4,048,657," the report says.

It adds: "Since April, a further £48,382 has been received."

The report shows £320,670 has been spent on such projects in that 12-month period.

Of that, £200,787 was spent on improving recreation in the borough.

Play areas in Kershaw Avenue, Gardener Mount, Peel Brow, Hoyles Park, Limefield, Clarence Park, Duke Street, Bradley Fold, Bright Street and Whitefield Park have been improved.

A croquet pitch has been installed at Whitehead Park and work has been done on Peel Tower.

The Kirklees Bleachworks and Radcliffe Paper Mill local nature reserves benefited from improvements to the tune of £33,217.

Some £27,050 was spent on public art. "The majority of expenditure was on the Emergency Meadow installation, by Hilary Jack, in Kirklees Valley, while £4,000 was spent on project management and installation costs for the Lawrence Weiner exhibition in the Bury Sculpture Centre.

"A further £800 has been spent on design and research for Liz West's public light work, which is proposed as part of the Met Theatre's refurbishment."

Another £15,188 was spent removing Japanese Knotweed from Chamberhall Business Park and marketing the site, while site investigation work was carried out Townside Business Park.

Finally, £33,285 went on road improvements, £9,685 was spent on a study on how Clerke Street in Bury could be redeveloped and £1,455 was spent on a feasibility study for establishing a heat pipeline in Pilsworth.

The report also details the cash the council is expecting to receive from developers in the near future and the projects the payments relate to.

Summarising, the council's senior planning officer Fran Smith said: "The proactive approach to ensuring section 106 obligations are complied with has resulted in success in recovering outstanding contributions and enabled prompt identification when payment triggers have been reached on new developments."

Visit tinyurl.com/section106bury to read the full report.