Section 106 Agreements

The background

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.

These agreements are a way of delivering or addressing matters that are necessary to make a development acceptable in planning terms.

The Office of Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) circular of May 2005 elaborated further and outlined 5 tests that must be met by LPA's when seeking Planning Obligations.

A Planning obligation must be:

(i) Relevant to planning
(ii) Necessary to make the proposed development acceptable in planning terms
(iii) Directly related to the proposed development
(iv) Fairly and reasonably related to the proposed development
(v) Reasonable in all other aspects

The community infrastructure levy regulations 6th April 2010 states that a planning obligation may only constitute a reason for granting planning permission for the development if the obligation is:

(i) Necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;
(ii) Directly related to the development; and
(iii) Fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.

The policy

As part of the Local Development Framework (LDF) South Cambridgeshire adopted a Development Control Policies Development Plan Document in July 2007 which outlined examples of potential obligations that may be required as part of a new development.

POLICY DP/4 Infrastructure and New Developments

1. Planning permission will only be granted for proposals that have made suitable arrangements for the improvement or provision of infrastructure necessary to make the scheme acceptable in planning terms. The nature, scale and phasing of any planning obligations sought will be related to the form of the development and its potential impact upon the surrounding area.

2. Contributions may also be required towards the future maintenance and upkeep of facilities either in the form of initial support or in perpetuity in accordance with Government guidance.

Affordable housing, including for Key Workers;
Education (including nursery and pre-school care);
Health care;
Public open space, sport and recreation facilities (including Strategic Open Space);
Improvements (including infrastructure) for pedestrians, cyclists, equestrians, highways and public and community transport;
Other community facilities (e.g. community centres, youth facilities, library services social care, and the provision of emergency services);
Landscaping and biodiversity;
Drainage / flood prevention;
Waste management (pursuant to the Waste Development Plan);
Arts and cultural provision;
Community development workers and youth workers;
Other utilities and telecommunications.
Preservation or enhancement of the historic landscape or townscape

POLICY HG/3 Affordable Housing

1. Proposals for housing developments will only be permitted if they provide an agreed mix of affordable housing, as defined in PPS31, to meet local needs.

2. The amount of affordable housing sought will be 40% or more of the dwellings for which planning permission may be given on all sites of two or more dwellings. The occupation of such housing will be limited to people in housing need. It must be available over the long-term.

3. Within individual developments, the proportion and type of affordable housing will be the subject of negotiation with applicants. Account will be taken of any particular costs associated with the development (e.g. site remediation, infrastructure provision) and other viability considerations, whether there are other planning objectives which need to be given priority, and the need to ensure balanced and sustainable communities.

4. The appropriate mix in terms of housing tenures and house sizes of affordable housing within a development will be determined by local circumstances at the time of planning permission, including housing need, development costs, the availability of subsidy, and the achievement of mixed and balanced communities.

5. In order to ensure sustainable communities, affordable housing will be distributed through the development in small groups or clusters. In exceptional circumstances, on smaller sites, the Council may accept

The supplementary policy

The District Council has adopted a series of Supplementary Planning Documents contained within the LDF, to be used when considering planning applications and when drafting Section 106 agreements.

An informal standard policy for the provision of community facilities has been adopted by the District Council and is to be used in the negotiation of planning obligations.

Community facilities audit

In conjunction with Cambridgeshire local authorities, the RECAP waste management design guide has been produced and was adopted by South Cambridgeshire District Council on 13th March 2008. The guide contains a toolkit outlining the basis for planning conditions and obligations, and applicants should demonstrate that they have considered this in their application submission. It is to become a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) under Cambridgeshire County Council's new Minerals and Waste Plan.

The additional costs

Applicants are advised that there are additional section 106 costs to consider when submitting a planning application and entering into a section 106 agreement.

The contacts

Applicants are encouraged to engage with local Councils when considering submitting a planning application. Contact details for officers at District and County Council level have been provided to assist applicants.

The further reading

To assist applicants during the build process the Council has provided a process for satisfying planning obligations.

A section 106 guidance note has been created within the Parish Planning Pack to provide a greater level of understanding to Parish Councils on this subject matter.

The Open space in new developments SPD used the South Cambridgeshire recreation study as an evidence base for the standards as required by Planning Policy Guidance Note 17: Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation.

The District Council has produced a series of web pages dedicated to enlighten the use and benefit of arts development and publicly accessible art in both residential and commercial schemes. Applicants are encouraged to give this full consideration before submitting planning applications.

The housing strategy section provides relevant information such as housing research, strategic housing market assessments and village housing needs surveys. Good practice guidance can be found in the Ark housing consultancy report Improving the use of section 106 agreement to deliver affordable housing.

An informal guide to viability has been created by the District Council and highlights information that will need to be provide with the planning application, should the development be unable to satisfy adopted planning policy.

For more information on this visit the FAQs page