Managing growth
New developments in North Northamptonshire drive the delivery of new homes, jobs and economic growth.
But 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.
So we can run effective services, developers often need to contribute towards the provision of new or expanded infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of development.
Planning obligations
Planning obligations are one way (alongside highways agreements and planning conditions) developers contribute towards facilities and infrastructure which are needed to support our growth.
These can be financial contributions towards facilities and services or sometimes directly delivering this 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 developments on local infrastructure can be mitigated.
Ensuring we have a robust policy (supported by an up-to-date evidence base) is critical when securing Section 106 contributions. It demonstrates that the requirements are:
- needed 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 is set out in a range of adopted policies developed as part of the local planning framework.
In addition, our adopted 'Creating Sustainable Communities: Planning Obligations Framework and Guidance Document' sets out our approach to securing Section 106 obligations towards our education, libraries and digital infrastructure services. Email [email protected] to request a copy.
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 our Executive Committee in August 2021, including updates to the evidence base set out in document and confirming amended benchmark costs and yields:
To accompany the framework and technical updates, we commission 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 our adopted policies and evidence base as appropriate to ensure a transparent and consistent approach to securing planning obligations.
Infrastructure Funding Statement
All councils in receipt of developer contributions need to produce an Infrastructure Funding Statement.
It is a summary of the Section 106 financial contributions secured and received as a result of new development, helping to provide clarity and transparency to local communities and developers on infrastructure expenditure.
Our annual report sets out progress on securing, collecting and spending this funding from 1 April to 31 March. It also considers planned Section 106 expenditure over the next reporting period and beyond.
Email [email protected] for previous reports issued by North Northamptonshire Council or the former county, borough and district councils before 1 April 2021.
Travel plan guidance
We expect developments (both commercial and residential) to produce travel plans as part of the planning process - this is to help achieve transport 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. The templates follow Department for Transport guidelines and act as a definitive guide to our expectations.
Email [email protected] to request copies.
Last updated 31 December 2024