Managing growth

New developments in North Northamptonshire drive the delivery of new homes, jobs and economic growth for the area. However, development can also place additional pressures on existing infrastructure and services, such as schools, community and leisure facilities, highways and transport infrastructure, health services and the environment. 

In order for Council services to continue to run effectively, it is often necessary for developers to contribute towards the provision of new or expanded infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of development. 

Planning obligations

Planning obligations are one of the mechanisms (in conjunction with highways agreements and planning conditions) through which developers of land contribute towards the provision of facilities and infrastructure, which are necessary to support the growth of North Northamptonshire. These can be in the form of financial contributions towards facilities and services, or in some cases directly delivering such infrastructure through physical works. 

Section 106

Planning obligations are secured through a Section 106 agreement – legal documents that bind the land and ensure the impact of the development on local infrastructure can be effectively mitigated.

Ensuring we have a robust policy supported by an up to date evidence base is critical when seeking to secure Section 106 contributions, in order to demonstrate that the requirements are:

  • necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;
  • directly related to the development
  • fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development

Our approach to securing Section 106 developer contributions is set out in a range of adopted policies, developed as part of the local planning framework. See a detailed list of the policies operating across North Northamptonshire.

In addition to the policies listed for these areas, our adopted “Creating Sustainable Communities: Planning Obligations Framework and Guidance Document” sets out the approach of North Northamptonshire Council to securing Section 106 obligations towards its Education, Libraries and Digital Infrastructure services.

To request a copy of this document please email [email protected]

The document was formally adopted as a policy document by the former county council in January 2015. A technical update to the document was approved by North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Committee in August 2021, including updates to the evidence base set out in document and confirming amended benchmark costs and yields. The S106 Technical update note sets out these changes in further detail:

To accompany the Obligations Framework, and subsequent technical updates, the Council commissions Pupil Generation Forecast surveys, which provides the supporting evidence base for calculating the number of school children a development is likely to generate:

We review and update its adopted policies and evidence base as appropriate to ensure a transparent and consistent approach to securing planning obligations. 

Infrastructure Funding Statement

In accordance with the Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (England) (No.2) Regulations 2019, all councils in receipt of developer contributions are required to produce an annual Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS). The IFS provides a summary of the Section 106 financial contributions secured and received as a result of new development, for the purposes of providing the infrastructure necessary to support growth. The purpose of this document is to provide clarity and transparency to local communities and developers on infrastructure expenditure.

North Northamptonshire Council's Infrastructure Funding Statement(s) is published annually and sets out progress on securing, collecting and spending  Section 106 monies during the reporting period 1 April to 31 March. The IFS also considers planned Section 106 expenditure over the next reporting period and beyond.

For previous IFS reports issued by North Northamptonshire Council or the former county, borough and district councils prior to 1 April 2021 please contact: [email protected].

Travel plan guidance

The Council expects developments (both commercial and residential) to produce travel plans as part of the planning process in North Northamptonshire. This is in order to achieve transport modal shift targets in the area.

The commercial travel plan and residential plan templates set out the desired structure and content of travel plans expected for agreement and approval by the council.

To request a copy of these documents please email [email protected]

The templates follow the advice contained in the Department for Transport guidelines and act as a definitive guide to the expectations of the Council

Last updated 31 December 2023