Lambeth approves £983,912 of London Eye planning money for Waterloo and South Bank

Lambeth's cabinet member for planning and development, built environment, parks and public realm approved £983,912 of London Eye section 106 money for 2026-27 on 16 July 2026. Section 106 money is paid by developers under planning agreements to offset the effects of what they build.

The decision record states the council agreed the spending for the 2026-27 financial year under the section 106 agreement attached to the London Eye.

The sum is the largest of the three the council has logged in recent years. Lambeth approved £763,281 for 2025-26 and £711,877 for 2024-25. This year's allocation is £220,631 above last year's and £272,035 above the year before.

The money goes to one body. The council's April 2025 decision entered a service level agreement with the South Bank Employers' Group to manage the fund and deliver the obligations, running from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2029 and requiring the council to approve the money each year.

The 2024-25 decision committed £711,877 to the group for the year, with £355,938.50 covering the first six months, and approved a contract waiver for that delivery.

The fund covers one ward. The council's issue record lists Waterloo and South Bank, names Matthew Dibben, director of regeneration, growth and capital investment, as lead officer, and gives 16 February 2026 as the date Lambeth first published notice.

The record sets out the purpose in general terms. It states the funding is to "mitigate the impacts on the local environment and community" of the attraction. No page of the published record names the projects the £983,912 pays for.

The decision hands officers room to move. It delegates authority to the interim corporate director for growth and environment and the director of regeneration, growth and investment to approve changes and further project spending inside the 2026-27 payment schedule.

More of the fund is still unallocated. The record commits the council to reconvene partnership discussions on further project priorities and the remaining section 106 money.

How much is held in reserve is not published. The record refers to a review of retained reserves without giving a figure, and the most recent infrastructure funding statement on Lambeth's website — the annual account of developer money received and spent — covers 2023/24.

The council also agreed to review how the fund is run. The record states Lambeth will carry out joint review work with the South Bank Finance Group covering resourcing, roles, governance and how future section 106 funding is prioritised.

The allocation took effect on 24 July 2026, and the council's decisions register lists the call-in period as expired. Call-in is the process by which councillors can ask for a decision to be reviewed before it takes effect. Under the service level agreement, the 2027-28 allocation returns for approval next year.