Planning Obligations
Planning obligations and legal agreements are used to secure community infrastructure to meet the needs of residents in new developments and/or mitigate the impact of new developments upon existing community facilities.
They can also be used to restrict the development or use of the land in a specified way or require specific operations or activities to be carried out on land.
Section 106 (S106) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 allows a Local Planning Authority (LPA) to enter into a legally-binding agreement or planning obligation with a landowner in association with the granting of planning permission. The obligation is termed a 'Section 106 Agreement' and 'Section 106 Agreements' and 'Unilateral Undertakings' are types of planning obligations.
The agreements are a way of delivering or addressing matters that are necessary to make a development acceptable in planning terms. The nature of any contribution or obligation will vary according to the scale and type of development proposed and will therefore need to be assessed at the time the application is made, in consultation with the relevant service providing agencies, and agreed through negotiation with the developer. However, as a general guide, the types of infrastructure or facilities for which the council considers development should be obliged to provide include:
- Transport infrastructure or services, including new or improvements to existing footpaths, cycle ways, roads and bus services and their associated infrastructure, to link development to surrounding areas and ensure it is accessible by all modes of travel
- Affordable and special needs housing where there is a proven local need
- Education facilities to meet any expected shortage in school places arising from the development
- Community facilities, including buildings and play or open space, where existing provision is inadequate to provide for the new development
- Environmental improvements where necessary to mitigate the impact of a development or integrate it with surrounding areas
This list is not exhaustive and any other relevant and necessary matter may be included within a planning obligation that cannot be secured through the normal planning process but is required. For example applicants must also provide necessary infrastructure for water supplies and sewage disposal, which is covered by other legislation.
Matters agreed as part of a S106 must be:
- necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;
- directly related to the development;
- fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.
Contact
Email regenerationdelivery@dover.gov.uk
Tel: 01304 872477