Find out about planning obligations and Section 106 agreements. Information on the infrastructure funding statement, and the developer agreement – contribution and transaction documents.
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Section 106 Planning Obligations
Planning obligations under Section 106
Planning obligations under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 are sometimes attached to a planning permission when it is considered that a development will have a negative impact on the local infrastructure. For example, a new residential development can place additional pressure on school capacity, public transport, affordable housing, green space etc.
Planning obligations (Section 106) aim to mitigate the impact of a new development on existing facilities and make it acceptable in planning terms.
Planning obligations may only constitute a reason for granting planning permission if they meet the three statutory tests as set out in the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010 (as amended) and in paragraph 56 of the NPPF, they are:
- necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms
- directly related to the development
- fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind.
Section 106 planning obligations include:
- site-specific financial contributions – these are secured and must be used for defined purposes for instance, the provision of education facilities, traffic and highways related works, open space provision and affordable housing contributions (where accepted in lieu of on-site provision)
- provision of on-site affordable housing or education provision
- non-financial obligations including requirements such as training and employment management provisions and travel plans.
Infrastructure Funding Statement
Councils are now required to produce an Infrastructure Funding Statement annually (under amendments to regulations The Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019 No.1103 that came into force 1 September 2019). This sets out details about planning obligation receipts and anticipated expenditure. It provides clarity and transparency to local communities and developers on the infrastructure delivered and expenditure incurred.
The infrastructure funding statement is an annual report which provides a summary of the financial and non-financial developer contributions relating to Section 106 Agreements (S106) within the financial year.