Agenda item

Context:

To receive a presentation by the Head of Planning, Housing and Place Shaping and to scrutinise the changes to processes for negotiating Section 106 planning obligations and their subsequent implementation and monitoring. Specifically, the following documents:

·         Procedures for the Development, Monitoring and Control of Section 106 Schemes.

·         Policy Guidance: Approach to Planning Obligations – Residential Development.

·         Recreation and Public Open Space Developer Contributions Charging Schedule.

Key Issues:

It is a legal requirement (as set out in Regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations 2010) that a planning obligation may only constitute a reason for granting permission for the development if the obligation is:

(a) necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;

(b) directly related to the development; and

(c) fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the proposed development.

The specific contents of Section 106 agreements vary from one development to another but in general terms the types of provisions contained in them can cover the following matters:

·         Affordable Housing.

·         Education.

·         Recreation and Open Space:

-       Children’s Play (generally on site).

-       Adult recreation (generally off-site financial contributions).

·         Green Infrastructure.

·         Travel.

-     Highway infrastructure works necessary for the development to go ahead.

-     Sustainable transport contributions – walking, cycling, public transport.

Member Scrutiny:

·         An all member Seminar is being held at County Hall, Rhadyr, Usk on 1^st February 2018 regarding Section 106 Contributions Planning Policy Guidance. This will then be presented to Cabinet on 7^th March 2018 to seek approval of the document.

·         In terms of the pooling restriction, by being specific with requests for Section 106 funding, the Authority is less likely to come up against the pooling restriction.  The CiL regulations are being reviewed and as part of the review the pooling restriction might be removed.  If so, this would be helpful.  CiL is in the process of being devolved to Welsh Government.

·         Section 106 Funding can only be asked for the scale of a project.  However, five separate requests might not be enough to fund the project.  This is a challenge, as the Authority would then be required to fund the remainder of the project.

·         In response to a question raised regarding potential payment following arbitration, it was noted that this process is reviewed by the District Valuation Service, rather than going to arbitration.  The Developer only pays for demonstration of their case.

·         With regard to off-site Adult leisure recreation contributions, it is necessary to identify what the community priorities are from the out-set. Consultation with the Community Cluster areas will also take place to identify some of the priorities.  The implementation of place plans are in the initial stages of development in which town and community councils are being encouraged to produce plans for their areas.  The place plans will be required to align with the Local Development Plan (LDP). However, it was noted that the current LDP is under review.

·         In response to a question raised regarding the proposed Alternative Delivery Model (ADM) for leisure services and whether this might have an effect on drawing down Section 106 funding, it was noted that Newport City Council had recently changed leisure services provision via an ADM. Practice here has not changed.  However, discussions will need to be undertaken regarding how Section 106 funding might be delivered under an ADM within Monmouthshire.

·         The Section 106 Group comprises of cross party membership chaired by The Head of Planning Housing and Place Shaping. County Councillor D. Blakebrough expressed an interest in joining the group.

·         The District Valuation Service is consulted, as an independent body, with regard to how much Section 106 Funding a developer should provide the Authority. The District Valuation Service will look at land transactions and sales figures for the area and scrutinise build costs.

·         The Authority’s threshold of 10 is comparable with nearby Welsh local authorities.  One of the main viability challenges is around affordable housing.  The Authority’s greatest need is to provide social rented properties.