Developer contributions

Planning obligations, often called section 106 agreements, are agreements made between a developer and the Local Planning Authority (LPA) designed to meet the concerns an LPA may have about meeting the cost of providing new infrastructure for an area.

A section 106 agreement may be used for;

(a) restricting the development or use of the land in any specified way;

(b) requiring specified operations or activities to be carried out in, on, under or over the land;

(c) requiring the land to be used in any specified way; or

(d) 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: 

1. Necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms.

2. Directly related to the development; and

3. Fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development

What type of infrastructure may 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 comprise contributions towards sports, children’s play, village halls, allotments, health centres, and household waste bins.

Cambridgeshire County Council secures contributions towards infrastructure including schools, libraries, highways, and household recycling centres.

The South Cambridgeshire Local Plan helps inform and describe what planning obligations may be needed, depending on the nature and size of development.

The Council has produced a series of Infrastructure Funding Statements since financial year 2019 to 2020 showing information relating to contributions secured, allocated, used and retained by the Council.

• Infrastructure Funding Statement [PDF, 0.2MB] [PDF, 0.2MB] for financial year 2020 to 2021
• Infrastructure Funding Statement [PDF, 0.3MB] [PDF, 0.3MB] for financial year 2021 to 2022
• Infrastructure Funding Statement [PDF, 0.2MB] [PDF, 0.2MB] for financial year 2022 to 2023

The House of Commons Library has produced a briefing paper for Ministers which provides a helpful guide on section 106 agreements [PDF, 0.7MB].

Where can I 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 the planning register.