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Planning and Obligations Consultation

Planning Obligations Strategy Consultation

One of WNDC’s roles as the strategic development control authority for planning applications within its Urban development Areas is to ensure that, in making planning decisions, the impacts of a new development on the need for infrastructure is properly considered.

Planning Principles prepared for consultation last year outlined how the Corporation was proposing to examine the use of a standardised charging system to support the funding of essential infrastructure and support the development of sustainable communities. The standardised charging system would use the powers contained within the Town and Country Planning Acts to require “developer contributions” in addition to specific requirements for affordable housing, for a range of infrastructure. The developer contributions, together with any site specific requirements would be provided through a “Section 106” legal agreement, completed prior to the issue of a planning permission and would legally bind the developer to a range of measures associated with a development, including in some cases, the payment of staged contributions that would be used towards the delivery of the necessary infrastructure. 

Since autumn 2007, WNDC has been working with consultants Environmental Resource Management, (ERM) to examine in more detail the scope for such a regime to be introduced as an interim measure ahead of the longer term development plan (LDF) being prepared currently by the Joint Planning Unit of the Local Authorities.

As we have been preparing this system, we have been consulting informally with a range of stakeholders from the public and private sector. This has helped inform the preparation of a draft proposal for a standardised charging system detailed in the report below.

WNDC is now undertaking, in association with ERM, a formal consultation on the document for a period of 6 weeks, starting on the 19th May 2008 and finishing on 30th June 2008 at 5pm.

Consultation Reports:

 

Consultation Report

Annex A - Housing and Population Projection

Annex B - Provisional Infrastructure and Cost Schedule

Annex C - Development Appraisal and Viability Testing

Annex D - Draft Model s106 Agreement

Consultation Questions