Planning Obligations

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Planning obligations are legal contracts that can be used to deal with the adverse planning impacts of a development and improve the environment in which the development takes place. In doing so, planning obligations can contribute towards sustainable development.

Government guidance on Planning Obligations is set out in Circular 05/2005 and in the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 and 2011. Planning obligations are subject to three statutory tests and must be:

• necessary to make a development acceptable in planning terms
• directly related to the development
• fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to a development.

Planning Obligations can be used to:

• prescribe the nature of development (e.g. by requiring a proportion of affordable housing to be provided within residential development)
• secure financial contributions from a developer or works to mitigate a development’s impact (e.g. through increased provision of school places,  increased public transport provision or improved highway access)
• secure financial contributions from a developer to compensate for loss or damage (e.g. loss of open space).

London-wide guidance on Planning Obligations is set out in the London Plan 2011 Policy 8.2.

Royal Borough of Kingston guidance on Planning Obligations is set out in:  

• Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document.
• Core Strategy Policy IMP3.
• Kingston Town Centre Area Action Plan (K+20) Policy K23.