Implementation and monitoring
9.1 Once planning obligations have been agreed it is important that they are implemented, monitored and, where necessary, enforced in an efficient and transparent way. This is to ensure that contributions are spent on their intended purpose and that the associated development contributes to the sustainability of the area. This will require monitoring which, in turn, may involve joint-working by different parts of the Council.
9.2 Following the finalization of a planning obligation there are a range of different activities that need to be undertaken by a variety of different parties, to different timetables, sometimes extending over a number of years. Some of these tasks include:
- ensuring the delivery of on-site obligations by the developer to the required standard and timetable;
- ensuring that the necessary infrastructure that the Council or another public body has agreed to provide (wholly or in part, funded by contributions) is delivered;
- ensuring receipt of financial contributions at appropriate times;
- monitoring adherence to restrictions on all parties, including the Council, imposed through planning obligations;
- managing applications for the modification or discharge of agreements; and
- any necessary enforcement action.
9.3 If the Council’s monitoring work indicates that contributions from developers have not been spent for their specified purpose within an agreed timeframe, which will be set out in the obligation and depend on the level of the contribution and its proposed end use, they will be returned to the developer. The time periods during which financial contributions are to be spent will run from the date the contribution is received by the Council once the trigger point is reached as opposed to the date of the agreement or obligation.
9.4 If the contribution cannot be spent for the originally specified purpose within the timescale set out in the agreement the Council will first seek to negotiate with the developer, or their successor in title, an alternative purpose for the financial contribution.
9.5 In order that the monitoring and enforcement of planning obligations is carried out efficiently and effectively for the benefit of communities affected by development, the Council will levy a monitoring fee on each planning obligation. This monitoring fee will be enshrined within the planning obligation and must be paid by the developer or other parties as may be specified in the obligation on signing the section106 agreement. The fee will be applied to all obligations whether these are by agreement or submitted as unilateral undertakings. Similarly, the monitoring fee applies to all obligations including those payable to the County Council (and notwithstanding any fees they may levy in addition) because the Borough Council as determining local planning authority is under a duty to monitor compliance with those obligations as a matter of course too.