Planning obligations, often called Section 106 agreements, are agreements made between a developer and the Local Planning Authority (LPA). Their purpose is to mitigate the harmful impacts of a development proposals as well as securing other non-financial obligations. For example, affordable housing, without which the development proposal would be unacceptable.
What a Section 106 agreement can be used for
- restricting the development or use of the land in any specified way
- requiring specified operations or activities to be carried out in, on, under or over the land
- requiring the land to be used in any specified way
- requiring money to be paid to the authority
A planning obligation may only be used as a reason for granting planning permission for the development if the obligation is:
- 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
What infrastructure can be funded
South Cambridgeshire District Council secures contributions towards infrastructure which it will deliver but also on behalf of third parties such as Parish Councils and NHS England. This will typically include contributions towards:
- sports
- children’s play
- village halls
- allotments
- health centres
- household waste bins
Cambridgeshire County Council secures contributions towards infrastructure including:
- schools
- libraries
- highways
- household recycling centres
The Cambridge Local Plan and the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan helps inform and describe what planning obligations may be needed, depending on the nature and size of development.
Find a copy of a Section 106 agreement
Copies of all Section 106 agreements, including any supplemental agreement and deed of variation, are available on our planning portal, Public Access.
Infrastructure funding statements
We have produced a series of Infrastructure Funding Statements showing information relating to contributions secured, allocated, used and retained.
-
- Infrastructure Funding Statement for financial year 2021 to 2022 (South Cambs).pdf
- Infrastructure Funding Statement for financial year 2024 to 2025 (South Cambs).pdf
- Infrastructure Funding Statement for financial year 2019 to 2020 (South Cambs).pdf
- Infrastructure Funding Statement for financial year 2022 to 2023 (South Cambs).pdf
- Infrastructure Funding Statement for financial year 2020 to 2021 (South Cambs).pdf
- Infrastructure Funding Statement for financial year 2023 to 2024 (South Cambs).pdf
The House of Commons Library has produced a briefing paper for Ministers which provides a helpful guide on Section 106 agreements [PDF, 0.7MB].