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The information on this site is provided in good faith as guidance and stimulus to those involved in the Church’s strategy for new housing areas. No responsibility can be accepted for information which is inaccurate, and professional advice specific to particular places should be sought.
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| Section 106 Obligations | 20th Feb '07 |
| The '106' was the subject of the CTE Co-ordinating Group for New Housing Areas national conference in 2006. A full report of the conference, with supplementary papers, can be found in the Resources section. However, a summary paper presented at that conference by Graeme Law, a Strategic Planning Executive, now follows. |
Introduction
The planning system is designed to work in the public interest, to foster sustainable development. Under Section 106 of the Planning Acts, it is possible for Councils to enter into financial and other obligations relating to Planning Permissions. Government Guidance in Circular 05/05, confirmed by court decisions, requires that obligations are: necessary, relevant to planning, directly related to the proposed development, fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the proposed development and reasonable in all other respects.
They can only be used where the Council considers that the planning permission should be given, but where a specific Planning Application would be unacceptable unless specific issues are dealt with through an agreement. They can be both time consuming and costly to prepare and manage, and should only be used when there is a clear benefit.
In Peterborough the Council's policy for this is in the statutory Local Plan. This sets out the requirement for developers to contribute to education, affordable housing and leisure facilities etc in certain circumstances. Planning Obligations are agreed, not imposed and so can vary from site to site. If the Council's stance is unreasonable, then the Developer can appeal, leaving the Council with nothing or can complain to the Ombudsman, possibly with a big bill to pay.
What churches can do:
 They can look at proposals in the statutory Local Plan and their community needs. Then they should collect evidence to identify any facilities or steps that are essential before such development is approved. For example, this could involve the transfer of land, provision of funds, for capital projects or funding maintenance. They must be clear that some of these items will already have funding from other sources and that it is unlikely to be reasonable for new developers to pay for the whole of a facility that is needed for all the community. They should have a clear idea of how any other necessary resources will be found. Where possible, public agreement should be reached within the community and the views passed to the Council for inclusion in the Supplementary Guidance, which will be made available to potential developers. When consulted on individual applications, churches should make a response consistent with the Supplementary Guidance.
It may not be possible to agree all the benefits sought from a developer�s proposal - the Council will then have to decide if the Obligation offered by the developer is adequate to permit approval of the scheme.
If necessary, in rare cases churches can be party to such agreements.
. . . . . .
Graeme Law pointed out that s106 Examples are often to be found in developers agreeing to contribute to access roads, car parks, pedestrian facilities, open spaces and educational, environmental and recreational facilities.
Spiritual Provision
It helps to establish a '106 Agreement' if the Regional Spatial Strategy talks of community development and includes the word 'spiritual' in relation to the well being of a community. Some Spatial Strategies do include it, but if not a great deal of good can come from raising it in any Consultation stage of the Spatial Strategy. It can open doors for faith groups to be in a much stronger position to argue for its provision.
John Shephard on behalf of the Brethren's Gospel Trust has been visiting the Spatial Strategy Consultations around the country to advocate the inclusion of community provision to include a spiritual dimension. The Consultations are open procedures for anyone to attend. Contact your Regional Assembly for details of the Consultation process of the Regional Spatial Strategy and ask for a copy so you can check the timetable. |
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