A planning obligation is a legal agreement between the local planning authority, the applicant/developer and anyone else that has an interest in the land when a planning application is approved.

'Section 106 Agreements' and 'Unilateral Undertakings' are types of Planning Obligation authorised by Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

An obligation either requires the developer to do something or restricts what can be done with land following planning permission being granted.

We register these obligations as Local Land Charges. They are executed as deeds so you may need to employ a planning agent or a solicitor to act on your behalf.

Relevant contributions

Contributions may be required if you are seeking planning permission for Dorset Heathlands mitigation and Poole Harbour mitigation.

In addition the development may be required to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Dorset Heathlands Mitigation

Residential development within 400 metres of the heathlands is strictly controlled and mitigation is necessary between 400 metres and 5km of heathland. This mitigation is provided through Heathland Infrastructure Projects (HIPs) and Strategic, Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM).

HIPs are usually secured through the payment of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) but SAMMs are secured by planning obligation. You can check if your property is within 400 metres of a heathland on this map.

In accordance with the Dorset Heathlands SPD we will seek contributions towards SAMM at a rate of:

• £510 per house
• £348 per flat

There is also an admin fee of 5% or a minimum of £75.

Poole Harbour Recreation Mitigation

In the Poole area, planning applications for residential development will have to avoid adverse effects on the integrity of Poole Harbour caused by the disturbance to protected birds. To mitigate the impact of additional visitors to the harbour we will seek contributions towards Strategic Access Management and Monitoring (SAMM) in accordance with the Poole Harbour Recreation SPD at a rate of:

• £181 per house
• £124 per flat

There is an admin fee of 5% or a minimum of £25.

Other contributions, such as Affordable Housing, may be required and these will be explained by the planning officer through pre-application or during the planning application process.

Poole Harbour Nitrate Mitigation

In the Poole area, planning applications for residential development will have to avoid adverse effects on the integrity of Poole Harbour caused by the build up of nitrates from waste water treatment works. If the proposed development is not going to pay Community Infrastructure Levy, then a Section 106 contribution towards nitrate mitigation will be required in accordance with the Nitrogen Reduction in Poole Harbour SPD (2015) at a rate of:

• £1,793 per house
• £1,224 per flat

Affordable housing

For the Bournemouth area we have prepared indicative financial contributions for affordable housing provision where it is not possible to provide affordable dwellings on site. The contribution varies by area and dwelling type. You can view the Sub Market Area District Map and the contributions table for each sub area:

• Outer North West district
• Northern district
• Wessex Way Corridor
• West Coast district
• Poole Fringe
• East Coast district

These tables are supported by a technical note. We also provide a guidance note on applying the vacant building credit and 10 unit threshold to affordable housing policy.

There are no indicative financial contributions for affordable housing provision in the Christchurch or Poole areas

Planning obligations forms

If you are required to enter into a Section 106 agreement you will need to complete the Planning Obligations Financial Contributions Form and include it when you submit your planning application.

We use the following standard agreements:

• Fast Track Unilateral Undertaking Template (with guidance note)
• Section 106 agreement
• Unilateral Undertaking for an appeal

A fee is charged to cover our legal costs. For Fast Track Unilateral Undertakings the fee is £150. For other matters a fee of £300 is payable whether or not the instruction leads to a completed agreement. Fees must be paid upfront.