Section 106 Agreements
Customer guide to completing Planning Obligations (Section 106 Agreements and Unilateral Undertakings)
The Section 106 guide has been updated to provide additional guidance to customers on the use of Planning Obligations. It takes effect from 1 March 2023.
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Customer guide to completing Planning ObligationsDownload PDF (517.11 KB)
Search for planning obligations
You can search by address by using the find address search box displayed to the left of the map.The find address search box may not be displayed on a mobile device automatically. You can activate it by clicking on the purple box with three lines.
When you click on a purple shape, a pop-up box will appear which provides details of the planning application that has a planning obligation attached to it. Click on the interactive link provided at the bottom of the pop-up box to view the planning obligations online.
Compliance with Section 106
Please note that the Council would usually seek compliance with the obligations from the developer/landowner or their successor in title and it is unlikely that the Council would pursue enforcement of any non-compliance against individual homeowners or occupiers.
Frequently asked questions
A list of frequently asked questions is available on our S106 FAQ web page.
Section 106 Reports
Full details of secured, collected and due to section 106 contributions and affordable housing provision are set out in quarterly and annual reports available in the following link.
What is Section 106?
A Section 106 Agreement is a legal agreement between the Planning Authority and the applicant/developer and any others that may have an interest in the land.
In a limited number of cases, where only the applicant needs to be bound by a planning obligation and not the Planning Authority, instead of agreeing obligations through the standard process of discussion (negotiation and agreement) it may be acceptable and advantageous for the developer to make a unilateral offer or “unilateral undertaking” to the Planning Authority to settle obligations relevant to their planning application.
"Section 106 Agreements" and "Unilateral Undertakings" are types of Planning Obligation authorised by Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 Section 12. The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 also sets out restrictions on the use of Planning Obligations.
Planning Obligations are used following the granting of planning permission (normally major developments) to secure community infrastructure to meet the needs of residents in new developments and/or to mitigate the impact of new developments upon existing community facilities.
They can also be used to restrict the development or use of the land in a specified way or require specific operations or activities to be carried out on the land.
Benefits will be secured either in kind or via financial contributions depending on what is required. Some of the most common issues that arise are explained in and controlled by our adopted SPD’s (explained below).
The main topic areas to benefit are:
- Affordable Housing
- Primary and Secondary Education
- Urban Open Space
- Highways Improvements
- Healthcare
This list is not exhaustive and any other relevant and necessary matter may be included within a Planning Obligation that can not be secured through the normal planning process but is required in order for the development to be deemed acceptable in planning terms which would otherwise be refused.
Each development is judged on its own merits, however, there are certain requirements that apply to most major applications.
You can view our adopted Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD’s) which detail how we calculate the requirements, the adopted Unitary Development Plan (UDP) and Black Country Core Strategy by clicking on the following links.
Adopted Supplementary Planning Documents
How are Section 106 Contributions Spent?
Financial contributions sought through S106 are collected by the Local Planning Authority and transferred to the necessary service area to spend in accordance with the terms set out in each legally binding agreement.
The expenditure details for some of the most frequently sought contributions such as education and open space are set out in reports to Planning Committee on a quarterly basis and can be viewed in the link below:
S106 contributions cannot usually be given to community groups as 'grants' towards certain projects but the Council may, in some cases, work in partnership with Community Groups to help spend the contributions on the specific project(s) set out in each Section 106.
This would be at the discretion of each responsible spending service area and related enquiries should be made to these service areas.
What is Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)?
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge that will be payable by developers when they begin construction of new buildings following the granting of planning permission. It is to be used to pay for new infrastructure such as:
- roads
- open spaces
- schools
- health facilities
It is intended to replace most financial contributions that are currently paid in response to planning obligations (“section 106 agreements”).
CIL will be payable for a wider range of new development at set rates, rather than being negotiated on a site by site basis as is the case with planning obligations.
CIL is therefore intended to provide greater certainty for developers, as well as spreading the cost of paying for new infrastructure more fairly over a wider range of development schemes.
The amount payable (in £/square metres) is set by each local authority. Before introducing CIL, the authority must issue a “charging schedule” that sets out the chargeable amounts.
This amount can vary across the authority’s area, for example because of different land values, as well as between different land uses and size of development.
The amount charged must have regard to:
- the actual and expected costs of infrastructure
- the economic viability of development
- what other sources of funding might be available for particular types of infrastructure
Find out more by visiting our Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) page.
