Policy information sourced from Enfield Core Strategy 2010-2025

46 Infrastructure Contributions

Where Enfield Council grants planning permission for a development, the development will normally be required to make financial and in kind contributions towards infrastructure and community facilities.

In the medium to long-term, the Council intends to introduce a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which will set out a clear charging schedule for developers’ contributions towards local and strategic infrastructure. The Council will progress work on the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and charging schedule, in order to identify the infrastructure to be funded by the levy and contributions from developers. The charging schedule will be subject to consultation and Examination before being adopted by the Council.

In the meantime, the Council will adhere to the guidance set out in Circular 05/05, “Planning Obligations” (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, July 2005) when negotiating planning obligations, including the policy tests that an obligation must be relevant to planning, necessary to make the proposed development acceptable in planning terms, directly related to the proposed development, fairly and reasonably related in kind to the proposed development, and reasonable in all other aspects.

In the strategic growth areas, a more proactive and comprehensive approach will be taken through the area action plans, seeking to ensure that required infrastructure and community facilities are provided for in parallel with the development of new homes and jobs and linking planning obligations to specific local priorities in accordance with priorities set out in the Core Policies for Places section. For each strategic growth area, the Infrastructure Delivery Plan will identify the infrastructure required to accompany planned growth and the funding gaps which pooled planning obligations could contribute towards. If the CIL charging schedule has not been adopted, the area action plans and/or supporting masterplans will identify a proposed tariff for the area, based on a standard charge per residential dwelling, which will determine the appropriate financial contributions towards infrastructure to be secured from developers. The tariff will be secured through a Section 106 agreement.

In line with London Plan Policy 6A.4, Priorities in Planning Obligations, the Council has developed a list of provisions to be considered in obligations, with the highest priority given to affordable housing and public transport improvements, as follows:

  • Highest priority:
    • Affordable housing; and
    • Public transport improvements.
  • Other priorities:
    • Tackling climate change, including waste, energy, water, pollution and flooding prevention and mitigation;
    • Learning and skills facilities;
    • Health facilities and services; and
    • Accessible and affordable childcare provision.
  • Other provisions:
    • Other public realm provision and initiatives;
    • Other community infrastructure, such as libraries and community halls;
    • Business and employment initiatives, including meeting the needs of small and medium enterprises;
    • Public art and other cultural initiatives;
    • Highways and access improvements, including pedestrian and cycling initiatives;
    • Improving the built environment and community safety through good design;
    • Protecting and enhancing Enfield’s built heritage and its archaeology through contributions to the Council’s key heritage area schemes and listed buildings identified on the Heritage at Risk Register;
    • Open space and recreation provision, including play and sports facilities;
    • Green infrastructure and landscape features;
    • Biodiversity and geodiversity protection;
    • Fire & Emergency services; and Policing facilities.

The area action plans will provide much more detailed guidance on priorities for each area. Where necessary, other provisions not specifically noted above may be sought.

The appropriate and relevant provisions to be considered in individual negotiations will be evaluated and determined on a site by site basis, taking into account Enfield’s LDF objectives and policies, and the policies and broad planning obligation priorities of the London Plan. In negotiating contributions, individual site circumstances will be taken into account and particularly on those sites which give rise to abnormal costs it may be necessary to prioritise the provisions sought. Specifically, the GLA’s affordable housing toolkit will be used to calculate the viability of providing obligations in addition to affordable housing. The affordable housing targets identified in the Core Strategy should be adhered to unless the toolkit shows that the target is not viable for a particular site. If applicants claim that the scheme cannot fund the requested obligations on the grounds of commercial viability, the Council will expect an open book approach to be taken in examining the development finances of the proposals being considered.

Prospective developers will meet the Council’s costs in drafting the planning obligations relevant to their proposals, together with a financial contribution to the Council’s subsequent administration and monitoring costs.

For more information please see the Core Strategy 2010-2025