Speeding Tickets: Further Reforms For Section 106

The Housing & Planning Bill 2015 now takes forward some of the elements of the Treasury’s 2014 Autumn Statement to speed up planning decisions. It does not pick up the commitment to introduce a dispute resolution mechanism for Section 106 negotiations to speed up housing starts trailed earlier this year (and announced in the July 2015 Productivity Plan).

The Government is still considering its options, including a combination of legislative changes and ‘soft’ measures to steer the S106 process. Our Manifesto for Planning 2015 called for a model agreement to be adopted, to limit the current reinvention of the wheel for each scheme. Once the dust has settled on the Housing & Planning Bill, there are a few further things that Government could do to nudge the process.