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Submit plansAfter taking pre-app advice, I purchased a pair of derelict single storey dwellings that had previously been covered by lawful development certificates. The LPA is agreeable to the demolition of the two buildings and replaced with one new dwelling.
However the LPA is insisting on a s106 agreement to extinguish the LDCs, thereby preventing any subsequent application on the strength of the existing LDCs.
I consider the concern that the LPA may have could be covered by conditions, thus saving the cost of the s106. Your advice would be appreciated.
Hi Marsh,
When granting planning permission for a new development, councils can impose conditions on that permission and/or they can ask the applicant to enter into a legal agreement (also known as a Section 106 agreement).
Both conditions and legal agreements are ways to restrict a planning permission. The government is keen that they are not overused and that they don’t place unfair burdens on applicants, so there are tests that must be met before they are used.
The main test for legal agreements is that they should not be requested unless they are necessary – ie it would not be possible to grant permission at all if the agreement was not in place.
As you point out, legal agreements can be expensive and can also delay the grant of planning permission, because you must instruct solicitors to draw them up. Planning conditions are much more straightforward (they are just listed on the decision notice) but there are some matters that can only be dealt with through a legal obligation.
Without knowing the specifics, it is difficult to comment on your specific circumstances, but you would be best to take advice from a planning consultant or solicitor to work out whether the agreement is fair and whether its aims could be achieved through conditions instead. If you refuse to enter into the agreement and the council then refuses planning permission, you have a right of appeal.
Best of luck with your project plans,
Martin Gaine (Build It’s planning expert)