Real Estate: Public Procurement and Development Agreements

The preliminary guidance provided by the Office for Government Commerce (OGC) in October 2009 on public procurement and urban planning has been revised and updated to take account of the March 2010 ruling by the European Court Justice in the Helmut Müller case. New guidance is also given on the application of public procurement rules to s106 agreements.

The OGC suggests that a 'development agreement' between a public body and a developer may be less likely to comprise a public works contract if it meets some of the following characteristics:

• The proposed development (or a significant part of it) is to be undertaken at the initiative and autonomous intention of the developer, particularly if the developer already owns or has control of the land;