Planning obligations, also known as section 106 agreements, are legal agreements with an applicant, developer and any other parties interested in the land.
We use them where we cannot impose a planning condition.
Agreeing to planning obligations
If a direct payment cannot be made before we decide on a planning application, we need to agree on a planning obligation.
We may also need to agree to planning obligations for:
- Highways and public transport improvements
- On-site open space
- Affordable housing
- Public art and other matters
You can download a draft of our standard agreement and clauses. This document does not currently include clauses for affordable housing. Please submit these standard documents as part of your initial planning application. This will help us decide quickly.
View our standard draft agreements
Charges
You can download a table of charges for planning obligations.
How planning obligations help
We use planning obligations to make sure the community infrastructure meets the needs of residents in new developments or to lessen the impact of new developments on existing community facilities.
They can also restrict the development or use of the land in a specified way or require specific operations or activities to be carried out on the land.
Where a development means that extra community infrastructure is needed, we often use planning obligations to get a financial contribution towards it.
Guidance
The government set out guidance for using planning obligations. Our Supplementary Planning Document, ‘Provision of Recreational Open Space in New Housing’, sets out how all residential developments must contribute to recreational open space.
Infrastructure Funding Statement
The Infrastructure Funding Statement is an annual report. It provides a summary of all financial and non-financial developer contributions relating to Section 106 agreements within the borough.
The purpose of the statement is to provide an overview of how developer contributions are supporting new development and local infrastructure.
We've been required since 2019 to produce an annual Infrastructure Funding Statement. This is set out in The Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (England) (No.2) Regulations 2019.