Policy information sourced from Brentwood Local Plan

MG05: Developer Contributions

All new development should be supported by, and have good access to, all necessary infrastructure. Permission will only be granted if it can be demonstrated that there is sufficient appropriate infrastructure capacity to support the development or that such capacity will be delivered in a timely and, where appropriate, phased manner by the proposal.

Where a development proposal requires additional infrastructure capacity, to be deemed acceptable, mitigation measures must be agreed with the local planning authority and the appropriate infrastructure provider. Such measures may include (not exclusively):

  • financial contributions towards new or expanded facilities and the maintenance thereof;
  • on-site provision of new facilities;
  • off-site capacity improvement works; and/or
  • the provision of land.

Developers and land owners must work positively with the Council, neighbouring authorities and other infrastructure providers throughout the planning process to ensure that the cumulative impact of development is considered and then mitigated, at the appropriate time, in line with their published policies and guidance.

Applicants proposing new development will be expected to make direct provision or contribute towards the delivery of relevant infrastructure as required by the development either alone or cumulatively with other developments, as set out in the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and other policies in this Plan, where such contributions are compliant with national policy and the legal tests. Where necessary, developers will be required to:

  • enter into Section 106 (S106) agreements to make provisions to mitigate the impacts of the development where necessary or appropriate. Section 106 will remain the appropriate mechanism for securing land and works along with financial contributions where a sum for the necessary infrastructure is not secured via CIL; and/or
  • make a proportionate contribution on a retrospective basis towards such infrastructure as may have been forward-funded from other sources where the provision of that infrastructure is necessary to facilitate and/or mitigate the impacts of their development (including the cumulative impacts of planned development),

For the purposes of this policy the widest reasonable definition of infrastructure and infrastructure providers will be applied. Exemplar types of infrastructure are provided in the glossary appended to this Plan.

Exceptions to this policy will only be considered if:

  • . it is proven that the benefits of the development proceeding without full mitigation outweigh the collective harm;
  • a fully transparent open book Viability Assessment has proven that the full mitigation cannot be afforded, allowing only the minimum level of developer profit and land owner receipt necessary for the development to proceed. The viability assessment may be subject to an independent scrutiny by appointed experts, at the applicant’s cost and will be required to be updated upon completion of the development through a planning obligation;
  • a full and thorough investigation has been undertaken to find innovative solutions to issues and all possible steps have been taken to minimise the residual level of harm; and
  • enter into planning obligations to provide for appropriate additional mitigation and/or contributions (as the case may be) in the event that viability improves prior to completion of the development.

For more information please see the Local Plan