Planning obligations

New development often creates a need for:

• additional infrastructure, or
• improved community services and facilities.

Planning obligations are the mechanism used to secure these measures.

What is a planning obligation?

A planning obligation is a legally binding agreement under Section 106 of the 1990 Town and Country Planning Act.

These agreements are regularly referred to as:

• Planning Agreements or
• Section 106 Agreements.

They require a developer/landowner to:

• undertake certain works, or
• contribute financially towards the provision of measures to mitigate the negative impacts of their development.

Our approach to planning obligations can be found in the related documents section:

• SPD 4 Achieving Positive Planning through the use of Planning Obligations.
• Recreational Facilities Contribution Formula amendment sheet.

Before submitting an application for a major development (10 or more residential units or commercial development over 1000m2), you should refer to this document.

From 28 November 2011 to 20 January 2012 we will be consulting on a Revision to SPD4 (Planning Obligations) as well as a CIL Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) web page offers further inforation on this system of developer funding.

What happens if planning obligations are needed?

Our Legal Services Team will draft a Planning Agreement to be signed by:

• the council and
• the developer/landowner.

However, in some instances a Unilateral Undertaking can help to ensure that planning permissions are granted quickly.

A Unilateral Undertaking is a simplified version of a Planning Agreement and is only entered into by the landowner. 

See related documents for:

• Advice on when a Unilateral Undertaking is appropriate.
• A Unilateral Undertaking template.
• Guidance on its completion.