Planning Obligations

Provides guidance to local authorities in England on the use of planning obligations under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, as substituted by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. This circular clarifies the basis on which planning obligations should be assessed and gives guidance on the process of securing obligations.

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Planning obligations are private agreements negotiated, usually in the context of planning applications, between local planning authorities and persons with an interest in a piece of land (or "developers"), and intended to make acceptable development which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms. Obligations can also be secured through unilateral undertakings by developers. The purpose of this circular is to provide revised guidance to local authorities in England on the use of planning obligations under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as substituted by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991. It clarifies the basis on which planning obligations should be assessed for their acceptability in policy terms and gives further guidance on the process of securing obligations. This circular supersedes Department of the Environment Circular 1/97 (ISBN 0117533653).