Planning Obligations & Section 106 Agreements

 

Planning agreements and the obligations they contain, are a legal tool that the Council may use to seek contributions from developers to mitigate negative development impacts and facilitate development that might otherwise not occur.

 

The existing system of planning obligations is contained within Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended 1991) therefore they are sometimes referred to as Section 106 agreements.

 

Welsh Office Circular 13/97 (Planning Obligations) states that planning obligations must be:

  • 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.

 

The Council will be most likely to seek planning obligations on major developments or where development will impact upon a particularly sensitive site. The most commonly sought contributions include affordable housing, education, highways, landscaping and open space and community facilities.

 

From 1st January 2007 the Council introduced a separate fee system for progressing and the subsequent monitoring of planning agreements or obligations. Guidance Note 

 

Planning Obligations Service Standards have also been devised to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to delivering a quality service to developers and interested persons in respect of all matters relating to planning obligations. Service Standards 

 

The Council has a main point of contact for all issues relating to planning obligations – contact Victoria Abraham (Principal Planner – Development Control)

Tel. 01446 704662

E-mail vlabraham@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk