Section 106 Agreements
Securing community benefits through a planning obligation
A Section 106 Agreement is a legal agreement between the Planning Authority and the applicant/developer and any others that may have an interest in the land.
In a limited number of cases, where only the applicant needs to be bound by a planning obligation and not the Planning Authority, instead of agreeing obligations through the standard process of discussion (negotiation and agreement) it may be acceptable and advantageous for the developer to make a unilateral offer or “unilateral undertaking” to the Planning Authority to settle obligations relevant to their planning application.
"Section 106 Agreements" and "Unilateral Undertakings" are types of Planning Obligation authorised by Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by Planning and Compensation Act 1991 Section 12.
Planning Obligations are used following the granting of planning permission (normally major developments) to secure community infrastructure to meet the needs of residents in new developments and/or to mitigate the impact of new developments upon existing community facilities. They can also be used to restrict the development or use of the land in a specified way or require specific operations or activities to be carried out on the land.
Benefits will be secured either in kind or via financial contributions depending on what is required. The commonest issues that arise are explained in, and controlled by our adopted SPD’s (explained below). The main topic areas to benefit are Affordable Housing, Primary and Secondary Education, Urban Open Space, Highways Improvements and Healthcare. This list is not exhaustive and any other relevant and necessary matter may be included within a Planning Obligation that can not be secured through the normal planning process but is required in order for the development to be deemed acceptable in planning terms which would otherwise be refused.
Each development is judged on it’s own merits, however there are certain requirements that apply to most major applications. You can view our adopted Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD’s) which detail how we calculate the requirements and the adopted Unitary Development Plan (UDP) by clicking on the following links.
- Adopted Supplementary Planning Documents (Link to SPD webpage)
- Unitary Development Plan (Link to UDP webpage)
Frequently asked questions
A list of frequently asked questions are available on our S106 FAQ web page. Click on following link.
Search for planning obligations
You can search for and view electronic copies of completed planning obligations via our free on-line live planning interactive service which has been designed to be comprehensive and easy to use. Information and help options are provided for each page. To search for planning obligations via our planning interactive service click on following link.
Reports
Quarterly and annual reports detail the total amount of contributions or affordable housing provision received or provided so far, type of contribution, service area benifitting from contribution, and the total amount or number of affordable units secured ie not yet received but developers are obliged to pay or provide at some point in the future should the development commence within the permitted time as set out in their planning conditions (normally given 3 years to commence from date of granted planning permission, or 2 years from approval of a Reserved Matters application). To view all S106 reports click on the following link.
Contact
Mike Brereton
Monitoring Officer
Planning and Building Control
Regeneration and Performance Directorate
Civic Centre
Darwall Street
Walsall
WS1 1DG
Email - planningservices@walsall.gov.uk
Telephone – 01922 652589
Fax – 01922 623234
Translation Line – 01922 652426
Textphone – 0845 111 2910