Issue - meetings

The Director of Economic Development and Planning submitted a report for information updating members on Section 106 Agreements and planning obligations secured as part of planning applications.

The Report outlined the background to the planning obligations under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It explained that:

·         Planning obligations under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended), commonly known as S106 agreements, are a mechanism which make a development proposal acceptable in planning terms, that would not otherwise be acceptable. They are focused on site specific mitigation of the impact of development.

·         Most obligations are subject to conditions and include the timings of commuted payments made at trigger points.

·         The obligations are continually monitored using various mechanisms.

·         Utilisation of the receipted S106 contributions are reported to the relevant service committee with authority sought to either utilise the contribution or give it to a third party to accord with the requirements of the agreement.

Members were reminded that the Council had chosen not to implement a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) when it was introduced in 2010, instead it choose to continue negotiating planning obligations via S106 and that further outcomes on CIL were still awaited in a Government White Paper.