Planning obligations

Planning obligations and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The Community Infrastructure Levy (the ‘levy’) is a charge which can be levied by local authorities on new development in their area. It can be an used in helping to deliver the infrastructure needed to support development in their area. The levy only applies in areas where a local authority has consulted on, and approved, a charging schedule which sets out its levy rates and has published the schedule on its website.

We currently have no plans to introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy. This website will be updated if this position changes in the future.

Planning obligations

A planning obligation is a legal agreement between the planning authority, the developer and other interested parties. By law they must be:

  • necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms
  • directly related to the development
  • fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development

They may involve restrictions or obligations on the developer to secure planning permission. For example, the developer of a large housing site may make a contribution to build a new classroom at the local school.

An obligation cannot require the developer to solve an existing problem but it can ask for a contribution if the development will make it worse.

View or download Section 106 myths and facts (PDF)

Development cannot go ahead unless the developer has fulfilled planning obligations either by submitting a unilateral undertaking or entering into a Section 106 agreement with us.

The Section 106 agreement specifies when payments or in kind contributions will be made. The trigger varies between developments and often relates to the commencement date or specific occupancy rates.