Planning obligations, also known as Section 106 agreements (based on that section of the 1990 Town & Country Planning Act) are legal agreements made between local authorities and developers. They can be attached to a planning permission to make development acceptable when it would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms.
The land itself, rather than the person or organisation that develops the land, is bound by a section106 (s106) agreement. Any future owners will need to take this into account.
Planning obligations are used to:
- prescribe the nature of development (such as requiring a given portion of housing is affordable)
- compensate for loss or damage created by a development (such as loss of open space)
- mitigate a development’s impact (such as through increased public transport provision)
In addition to the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), infrastructure projects can be secured by the use of these s106 agreements. Planning obligations are created that secure infrastructure through:
- financial contributions paid to the council to deliver specific infrastructure projects capable of serving the development or
- in-kind infrastructure works carried out by developers within their development site
S106 agreements must follow strict legal guidelines. A planning obligation may only constitute a reason for granting planning permission for the development if the obligation is:
- necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms
- directly related to the development
- fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development
The Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning document (SPD), February 2015, sets out the council’s approach to securing infrastructure and explains the relationship with the CIL.
Developments that have an impact on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) will be required to provide mitigation. This includes provision for Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) and Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM), which will be secured by planning obligation.
Infrastructure funding
View the council's infrastructure funding statements.
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Producing a s106 agreement
Once it has been established that a s106 agreement is required, the council will instruct its legal team to produce an agreement.
Example agreements can be requested by emailing cil@bracknell-forest.gov.uk.
The process involves the following stages:
- Agree the terms of the s106 agreement
- Appoint a lawyer with planning experience to act on your behalf
- Pass the lawyers details to the case officer
- The case officer will instruct the council’s legal team to produce the s106 agreement once they have an undertaking to cover the council’s legal fees
- The council’s legal team will communicate with the applicant’s solicitor to agree the terms of the s106 agreement
- Date and sign the agreed s106 agreement
- Issue planning permission
Monitoring of live planning obligations
The Planning Infrastructure and Implementation Team are responsible for monitoring compliance with obligations within s106 agreements.
Officers visit sites to review the stages of development and ascertain if a financial contribution or in-kind works to the infrastructure are due. Depending on the circumstances, invoices or correspondence signing off works are provided by the council.
The administration and monitoring of s106 agreements is costly and requires significant resource. The council seeks reasonable fees based on the s106 administration schedule.
The council will:
- inspect relevant sites
- arrange for invoices
- correspond over other obligations
- sign off obligations in writing once completed
- keep the land charges register up to date
Officers will also make sure contributions are spent in a timely manner on the appropriate infrastructure projects for which they have been secured.
s106 administration schedule
| On-site open space obligations involving the provision of land, works to it and their transfer and or ongoing maintenance | 10 hours | £800 |
|---|---|---|
| Type of s106 obligation | Time spent on administration and monitoring | Cost to be secured in s106 agreements |
| Standard Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area (SPA) obligation involving financial payment on commencement of development | 6 hours | £480 |
| SPA obligation involving phased payments (per phased payment) | 2 hours | £160 |
| Obligations for bespoke Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) to be transferred to council ownership | 40 hours | £3,200 |
| Obligation for bespoke SANG to be managed by 3rd party land owner | 75 hours | £6,000 |
| Obligations for developments which purchase 3rd party SANG capacity | 10 to 12 hours | £800 to £1,000 |
| Standard non alienation obligations | 15 hours | £1,200 |
| Standard affordable housing obligations | 10 hours | £800 |
| Standard waste and recycling obligation (per recycling facility) | 3 hours | £240 |
| Standard sustainable drainage system (SuDS) obligations | 20 hours | £1,600 |
| Standard transport obligations | 4 hours | £320 |
| Obligations for the payment of financial contributions (per instalment) | 2 hours | £160 |
| Bespoke obligations involving the provision of land, works to it and building facilities on it and their transfer and or ongoing maintenance (per facility) | 20 hours | £1,600 |
| Travel plan (per travel plan) obligations | 4 hours | £320 |
| Other obligations requiring a one-off bespoke action (for example, not to start development until the action is completed) | Up to 2 hours | Up to £160 |
| Other obligations such as reptile mitigation measures and timed options | 10 hours | £800 |
| On-site open space obligations involving the provision of land, works to it and their transfer and or ongoing maintenance | 10 hours | £800 |
| Up to 1 hectare bio-diversity net gain administration and monitoring | 60 hours | £3600 |
| Over 1 hectare bio-diversity net gain administration and monitoring | 60 hours+ | £3660 per hectare pro rata |
Historic s106 agreements
As s106 obligations are related to the land, subsequent owners or occupiers may be bound by legal obligations. Often conveyance solicitors wish to view s106 agreements (or historic obligations such as section 16 and 52 agreements) to make sure that the obligations have been discharged.
S106 agreements are available through the online planning register. You will need to search by address or the planning application that the agreement was tied to. Planning applications that have legal agreements in force will have them annexed under the ‘documents’ tab. If you want specific information about, or copies of the agreement, the council charges a reasonable fee as shown below.
For information about s106 agreements, email cil@bracknell-forest.gov.uk. If the enquiry seeks information as described above we will advise of any cost and how to make a payment.
| Type of solicitor request | Cost |
|---|---|
| Provide an electronic copy of a S106, 52, 16 or 299A Agreement | £30 |
| Cost of monitoring response if easily obtainable (response by email) | £25 |
| Cost of additional research (estimate given on a bespoke basis) | £140 per hour |