Monitoring charges for legal agreements
Planning obligations are legal obligations entered into to mitigate the impacts of a proposed development. Planning obligations are normally secured through a legal agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) and are a mechanism through which development proposals can be made acceptable in planning terms.
In July 2020 the council adopted the Local Plan 2016-2036 Part One: Planning Strategy. The Local Plan proposes over 10,000 new dwellings over the plan period. A number of strategic housing sites are identified ranging from 100 to 1400 dwellings. The plan recognises the importance of appropriate infrastructure to support new development by means of policy STR7 and STR8. Policy IMPL3 specifically references the need for monitoring.
There are two distinct forms of monitoring within Section 106 legal agreements:
- monitoring of commencement/phasing triggers to ensure financial contributions are collected; and
- physical monitoring of compliance with the terms of the agreement, e.g. monitoring delivery and ongoing management of infrastructure, biodiversity net gain and affordable housing
The monitoring contribution relating to build out rate monitoring will remain fixed regardless of the scale of development.
The monitoring fees for on site monitoring may increase based on the characteristics of the site, however if this is the case you will be advised by your case officer.
The standard monitoring costs are set out in the table below, the costs identified are one off payments that will be collected on the commencement of development.
If a site does not provide a particular element of infrastructure on site, such as it provides an offsite scheme for nutrient neutrality, then that particular monitoring contribution will not be required to be paid.
The contributions charged are index linked and change annually each April. The charges from April 2024 are set out below.
Monitoring Area | Charge based on up to 50 units |
|---|---|
Recreational Habitat Mitigation commencement checks | £847 |
Recreational Habitat Mitigation on site monitoring / inspections | £12,178* |
Affordable Housing monitoring | £847 |
Biodiversity Net Gain on site monitoring / inspections | £5,225* |
Public Open Space (formal, informal, play area and landscaping) on site monitoring / inspections | £6,863 |
Nutrient Neutral on site monitoring / inspections | £10,450* |
* Minimum figure. An additional rate may be charged if physical inspection likely to take additional time
You can read the Cabinet paper which approved the introduction of these charges below
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