BPF Response re Major Development Sites and Section 106 Obligations

Development of major projects, particularly regeneration schemes, frequently involves complex assembly of land under a multitude of different land ownerships. To achieve a comprehensive approach to development, particularly where master plans have been approved covering a wide area, a single planning application covering that area is often required. The applicant for planning permission, usually a developer in those circumstances, may have secured control of some of the land through purchases, conditional contracts or options, but frequently will not have secured control of the entire application site. In such cases when planning permission is granted, the applicant is not in a position to deliver a Section 106 obligation[1] covering the entire application site or those parts of the application site which need to be bound by the obligation (there will be cases where it is not necessary for the entire application site to be bound). Quite significant parts of the application site may have to become bound by the obligation after the grant of planning permission, as the developer secures an interest in that land or as that land is brought forward for development by other parties. The issue is also relevant in the context of compulsory purchase orders where planning permission has to be granted before compulsory purchase powers are used to assemble sites. It will often not be practicable to put in place the necessary Section 106 planning obligations until CPOs have been confirmed and implemented.

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[1]          The term Section 106 obligation is used to cover both agreements and unilateral undertakings entered into under Section 106 Town and Country Planning Act 1990