Districts attack plans for forced renegotiation of s. 106 obligations

The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has criticised Government plans to require local planning authorities to renegotiate s. 106 planning obligations agreed before 6 April 2010.

In a letter to Communities Secretary Eric Pickles as part of its response to a consultation, the DCN’s Planning Lead, Cllr Gillian Brown, said the network welcomed the Government’s determination to unlock stalled development.

However, it identified a number of concerns including:

• the presumption that obligations agreed before 6 April 2010 had made development unviable;
• that the proposals would lead to a further stall in starts due to the added uncertainty, “as many developers will wait to see if they can gain through the proposed changes”; and
• that the proposals did not take into account the other more significant causes of stalled development – “general economic conditions and confidence, low market demand and lack of liquidity in the finance market”.

Cllr Brown wrote: “We are particularly concerned that Government feels it necessary to require local planning authorities to renegotiate Section 106 obligations. District councils have always being willing to voluntarily reconsider s. 106s when a developer can demonstrate that planning obligations are the reason for development being stalled.”

The DCN considered that the central direction proposed in the consultation and in the Communities Secretary’s written statement of 6 September (on housing and growth) did not accord with the Government’s commitment to localism, she added.

“Districts councils rather than central government are best placed to create and deliver sustainable communities and places, in specific response to local needs and situations,” Cllr Brown said. “District councils welcome the support of Government in helping local policy to work.”

The DCN represents 194 district councils.

Philip Hoult