Some developments have potential to cause harm to their surroundings, or increase pressure on physical and social infrastructure in communities.
To avoid or reduce these negative impacts and make the development acceptable, local planning authorities (LPAs) can ask the applicant or developer to provide facilities (like public open space) or make improvements (such as to make a road junction safer). Applicants can also be asked to pay money instead, for the Council to use to make improvements or provide facilities.
This is known as a ‘planning obligation’ and is negotiated through the planning application process. Planning permission can’t be granted until a legal agreement (called a Section 106 or S106 agreement) is signed.
For futher information on planning obligations, including detailed references to local and national planning policy, see our guidance note:
It’s important that applicants allow for planning obligation costs and other development costs when designing a development and negotiating land purchase. We offer a pre-application development viability service.
Planning authorities can also use a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) if they have adopted a CIL charging schedule. This is a set charge per square metre on some types of development. If the planning authority has an adopted CIL charging schedule, they can’t also ask for contributions towards the same things through S106. Conwy doesn’t have a CIL charging schedule at the moment.
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A charge will apply for using our pre-application development viability advice service.
This service is in place to discuss the viability of a proposed development scheme and provide developers with a formal response detailing the level of planning obligations that would be required to support a planning application.
Documents:
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The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a voluntary mechanism that allows local authorities in England and Wales to levy a standard charge on most types of new development, to fund the infrastructure needed to support development in their area. CIL has been designed to replace the current system of planning obligations.
The Government set out transitional rules until April 2015; since then a Local Planning Authority may not seek contributions for pooled resources, for example play-space contributions, through Section 106 agreements. Planning obligations should be scaled back to cover the provision of affordable housing and site specific measures required to mitigate the impact of development.
If and when the Council adopts a CIL charging schedule it should be recognised that most infrastructure will be delivered through CIL not Section 106. CIL will require some types of development to pay a charge based on the size of a development. Unlike Planning Obligations CIL can’t be negotiated.
After the Local Development Plan (LDP) was adopted, some progress was made towards adopting a CIL in Conwy but this was paused while Welsh Government reviewed CIL. Work towards drafting a CIL charging schedule is now going on alongside the Replacement LDP.
External links:
Next page: How we spend Section 106 money