Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document (SPD)

7. Planning Obligations

7.1 In accordance with paragraph 55 of the NPPF, Local Planning Authorities should consider where unacceptable development could be made acceptable through the use of planning obligations, where it is not possible to address the unacceptable impact through planning conditions.

7.2 Under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the following obligations may be secured to mitigate the impacts of a development proposal, in terms of specific housing details:

• Precise scale and scope of the form, delivery and management of the affordable housing in relation to the specific circumstances of the development. This can include:
  • The number, size, tenure and siting of the affordable housing;
  • The phasing of the development;
  • Appropriate trigger points for the provision of affordable housing to an affordable housing provider, to ensure that it is provided in a timely manner in relation to the market housing and delivered in full before an agreed percentage of the market housing has been completed;
  • Eligibility and allocation restrictions on occupancy or disposal to meet local housing need;
  • Mechanisms for ensuring that the affordable housing dwellings are used solely and exclusively for affordable housing in perpetuity;
  • Compliance with public subsidy funding conditions when public subsidy is allocated;
  • Provision of a financial contribution where applicable;
  • Ensure intermediate affordable units for shared ownership (sale) remain affordable;
  • The Council expect that the ownership of the affordable housing units will be transferred to a Housing Association/Registered Provider.

7.3 The Council will draw up the S106 Agreement and any related nomination agreement. The Council's legal costs related to these, will be payable by the developer on an indemnity basis on completion of the S106 Agreement.

7.4 Proposed variations to the terms of a completed S106 can only be agreed by a deed of variation. Requests to vary agreements should be made to the planning officer in the first instance. The full costs of the variation are payable by the applicant.