Section 106 planning obligations
New development in Tower Hamlets can bring
significant benefits to local communities, including new homes and
jobs. However, there are often impacts on the local area as a
result of development, for example more people using local
facilities such as parks, roads and leisure centres.
These impacts can be addressed through
‘planning obligations’, which are commitments made by the
developer and formalised by a legal agreement under the Planning
Act. The legal agreement is known as a ‘Section 106
agreement’ and forms part of a planning approval. Section 106
agreements are legally binding, and the obligations may be either
in cash or kind, to undertake works, provide affordable housing or
provide additional funding for services.
A planning obligation must comply with the following three
tests as set out in the Community
Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010:
- necessary to make the
development acceptable in planning terms
- directly related to the
development; and
- fairly and reasonably
related in scale and kind to the development.
Further information can be found on
our Community Infrastructure Levy
(CIL) page.
What can be included in a Section 106
Agreement
Planning obligations help to ensure that new
development is sustainable and can assist in meeting the objectives
of the LBTH Community Plan, LBTH
Core Strategy (part of the LBTH
Local Development Framework) and other
relevant local, regional and national policies.
The Planning Obligations Supplementary
Planning Document (SPD) was adopted by Cabinet on 11th January
2012. This Document explains the Council's approach to planning
obligations and aims to clarify the types of planning obligations
that may be sought and the methodology for calculating the amount
of these obligations. The SPD and supporting documents can be
viewed on our Local development
framework webpage under Current Documents in the LDF.
View Section 106 Agreements within the London Borough of Tower
Hamlets.
Every Section 106 agreement is attached to a
specific planning application and site in the borough and searches
can, therefore, be carried out by site address or planning
application number. It should be noted that the receipt of Section
106 contributions is contingent on works starting on site and
planning consent, therefore, being implemented. Sometimes, a
development may not proceed and the Section 106 obligations are
then not required to be contributed. Payment of financial
contributions, or compliance with providing in-kind obligations,
will be triggered by a certain phase of the development being
implemented, such as commencement.
Summary of received financial
contributions
By their nature, all Section 106 contributions
collected by the council have an agreed purpose. For each
development, the Section 106 Agreement will specify how the monies
are to be spent, therefore there is limited, if any, opportunity
for reallocation of funds once received.
Table 1(PDF
26.5kb) provides a summary of the financial contributions that
have been received by the council up to October 2011. It
identifies the purposes for which these financial contributions
have been collected, the amounts received by the council to date
and the contributions which have been spent up to the end of the
last financial year. The information on monies spent will
be completed and updated at the end of each financial
year, while information on monies received will be updated
quarterly. Also provided within Table 1 is a further
description of these purposes and how they can be utilised for more
specific projects.
It should be noted that the London Borough of
Tower Hamlets (LBTH) currently holds no unallocated Section 106
monies, that is, no Section 106 agreement resources with
unrestricted availability. Each amount identified in Table 1 will
be applied to projects fixed by the original Section 106 Agreement,
in accordance with the specific identified purpose.
Section 106 project factsheet
Section 106 funded projects are being
delivered all the time in Tower Hamlets. Click on the links below
to view our S106 Project Factsheets, showing a selection of schemes
completed or currently being delivered through planning obligations
in the borough. A new edition will be available every six months,
with the next one to be published around April 2012.
This webpage and any of the financial
information included will be updated on a quarterly basis.
Section 106 Frequently Asked Questions
Contact us:
POSTAL ADDRESS:
Mulberry Place (AH)
PO Box 55739
5 Clove Crescent
London E14 1BY
Tel: 020 7364 5009
Fax: 020 7364 5415
Email:majorprojects@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday - except public holidays.
Public Transport: Buses 277, D6,15,115
Tube/DLR: East India Dock or Blackwall Stations
Location
map for Planning Office (pdf,1.29mb)