ABSTRACT

Providing a facility with a clear usage for the local community, such as a sports centre, has a tangible benefit to the local area, but simply providing a space that the community can use for their specific needs can have far wider benefits than could be anticipated. Through planning obligations, councils are able to levy funding on new developments to help relieve the school place shortage in the form of a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) or a Section 106 (S106) agreement. Using the negotiation around S106, in particular, enables the creation of a mixed-use development, providing the school on the available site and satisfying the need for increased school places and more homes. This is subject to affordability analysis by the developer, but the increasing number of mixed-use developments, particularly in London, show that this is a viable route. Within mixed-use developments, the ideal solution is often to physically separate the school and housing.