Climate Contract Playbook Edition 3
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Planning obligations should not be used unless the issues cannot be addressed through a planning condition. Planning conditions (implemented through planning permission) should be kept to a minimum and only imposed if: necessary; relevant to planning and to the development permitted; enforceable; precise and reasonable in all other respects 82 . Planning obligations (secured by way of a section 106 agreement or unilateral undertaking) can only be a reason for granting planning permission if it is necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms; directly related to the development and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development 83 . The planning system sits alongside the building regulation regime. Part L of the Building Regulations, which deals with energy efficiency of buildings, may be a useful reference point. Government proposals to “radically reform” 84 the planning system may render the agreements referenced here (e.g. section 106 agreements) inapplicable in future. However, the drafting is intended to form a basis for securing developer contributions and may be adapted to future agreements.
Context continued
A mechanism to encourage and assist with nationwide carbon neutral planning developments.
Impact
1. Government (in particular the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government) 2. Local Planning Authorities 3. Town and Country Planning Association 4. Investors 5. Developers 6. Commercial landlords 7. Landowners The suggestions below can be applied nationwide. Methods of assessing a development’s carbon neutral status are still being developed and this should be monitored. The suggested drafting in items 2, 3 and 6 below are suitable for incorporation into planning permissions (planning conditions) or section 106 agreements and unilateral undertakings (planning obligations). Drafters need to ensure that the requirements of the Sustainability Plan do not conflict with the submitted planning application (including the drawings). For example, if the Sustainability Plan requires a developer to use on-site renewable energy but the application on which the planning permission is to be granted does not include renewables, it will be difficult for a developer to depart from the approved drawings. However, this is an issue as the sustainability of developments are then limited by the original lack of ambition. In drafting solution 3: adapt the definition of Net Zero Objectives to suit the development. Consider including obligations to help ensure implementation of the Net Zero Objectives Plan. E.g. refine the concept of the Plan so that some objectives are implemented prior to commencement, completion, occupation or any other phase of the development.
Stakeholders
Application
Notes for users
Mechanisms, suggested drafting solutions and resources 1. Planning policy examples 2. Planning obligation to secure a sustainability plan
82 NPPF, paras 54 & 55. 83 Regulation 122(2) Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010. 84 August 2020, ‘Planning For the Future’ White Paper, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/907647/MHCLG-Planning-Consultation.pdf
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