Yesterday, the Government published its ‘radical’ new housing strategy aimed at reigniting the UK’s housing market and getting the nation building again. It is encouraging to see the Government proposing such a package of measures tackling a range of issues. This multi-faceted approach is key to dealing with the root causes of the nation’s housing problem.
From a planning point of view, we note the Government’s intention to consult on proposals to enable developers to require local planning authorities to reconsider S106 Agreements completed before April 2010 in more prosperous market conditions. The strategy also refers to ‘resultant appeals’ which suggests that the Government intends to allow the S106 Agreement review application procedure (S106A 1990 Act) to apply to all S106 Agreements made before April 2010.
This would be a significant and useful step. Currently, Section 106 Agreements have to be 5 years old before you can use the S106A application procedure, meaning that where the agreement is more recent you need the Local Planning Authority to join in a deed of variation and there is no appeal if they refuse. Under the S106A application procedure, there is a right of appeal.
