13th August 2012
Expert brokers will spearhead a fresh drive to get stalled housing deals up and running and builders back on moth-balled sites, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced.
The Communities Secretary is concerned that too much development is being stalled because of economically unrealistic agreements negotiated between councils and developers at the height of the housing boom. This results in no development, no regeneration and no community benefits at all when agreements are no longer economically viable.
The deals - legally known as Section 106 - agreements, require developers to make a financial contribution to the community or provide housing, amenities or infrastructure as part of their planning permission.
Teams of intermediaries will now offer a free-of-charge advice and support service to councils and developers and will be available to help kick-start renegotiations of these deals, to stop them being a barrier to getting building underway.
Brokers will begin work immediately with an initial wave of councils that are keen to address obstacles that are preventing development in their area before working with other councils around the country.
The brokers will:
The Government is also launching a consultation that proposes giving developers the option to ask councils to renegotiate Section 106 obligations if they were agreed prior to April 2010. Currently these obligations cannot be renegotiated for five years once a council refuses a request for voluntary renegotiation by a developer.
29th August 2012
A report from the think tank Infrastructure Forum, which is part of the European Policy Forum, advocates a Dutch-style compensation scheme for residents affected by new developments, to unblock the planning system and stimulate growth.
The report - Compensating for Development: How to Unblock Britain's Town and Country Planning System - looks at how legislation works in the Netherlands, where local authorities pay compensation to small numbers of people directly affected by proposed developments.
The compensation often helps to overcome barriers and removes opposition to schemes, consequently freeing up the planning system.
