Planning Obligations in Lancashire
The main purpose of the planning system is to promote sustainable development. As well as careful use of natural resources, sustainable development entails an awareness of the social, economic and environmental implications for service provision and quality of life.
Planning obligations are legal agreements, under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, that are aimed at minimising any negative impacts of proposed development in its vicinity. They are negotiated between the developer and the planning authority, and can be used to offset the impacts of new development where these cannot be satisfactorily addressed by conditions attached to the planning consent. Examples of such measures could be the provision of a play area, the creation of a new wildlife area or a contribution towards new school or youth facilities in the vicinity of the development.
To ensure good practice and a speedier planning process, central government has identified the importance of a consistent framework for negotiations in relation to such contributions. To this end, Lancashire County Council has adopted a policy paper, ‘Planning Obligations in Lancashire’. In outlining the reasoning behind potential requests, and providing methodologies to establish formulae for calculations based on the size and location of the proposal, it is hoped that developers will gain a clearer understanding of the approach to planning obligations.
A copy of the Planning Obligations in Lancashire Policy Paper is available below. It forms Lancashire County Council’s approach with the District Councils. It was prepared in consultation with the Districts, who will take forward as is locally appropriate.
Planning Obligations Policy (942 KB, Word Document)