Agenda item

Report to follow

The report before members related to proposals for a residential development for 144 residential units on land at former Whitworth Centre, Noak Hill Road, Romford.  The site had the benefit of planning permission (under planning reference 1558.11) which was subject to a Section 106 legal agreement completed on 29 March 2012.  The Section 106 agreement should include a travel plan and the original agreement would be varied to include that planning obligation.

It was reported that a request had been made to the Council to vary under Section 106A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 the legal agreement to amend the definition of ‘Shared Equity” in the original agreement to read ‘"Shared Equity means the sale of a100% interest in the reversionary title of a residential dwelling to an Approved Person (or such other purchaser as may be permitted pursuant to Schedule Five) at such price as is below market price (as per the definition of Intermediate Affordable Housing within Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework (27 March 2012) but which is otherwise as the Developer and the said Approved Person (or such other purchaser as may be permitted pursuant to Schedule Five) shall agree and provided further that such price shall be paid in part cash payment and part Shared Equity Charge pursuant to paragraph 5 of Schedule Five".

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Further a definition of ‘a Person in Housing Need’ suitable to the Council would be added to the definitions in Schedule 5 of the original agreement.

It was RESOLVED that the variation of the Section 106 agreement dated 29 March 2012 pursuant to planning permission reference number P1558.11 by Deed of Variation under Section 106A of the Town and Country Planning Act (as amended), be approved:

1.    the definition of ‘Shared Equity” in the original agreement be amended to read ‘"Shared Equity means the sale of a100% interest in the reversionary title of a residential dwelling to an Approved Person (or such other purchaser as may be permitted pursuant to Schedule Five) at such price as is below market price (as per the definition of Intermediate Affordable Housing within Annex 2 of the National Planning Policy Framework (27 March 2012) but which is otherwise as the Developer and the said Approved Person (or such other purchaser as may be permitted pursuant to Schedule Five) shall agree and provided further that such price shall be paid in part cash payment and part Shared Equity Charge pursuant to   paragraph 5 of Schedule Five".

2. a definition of ‘a Person in Housing Need’ be inserted in the definitions in Schedule Five of the original agreement which is acceptable to the Council.

3. a planning obligation be inserted requiring the production of a travel plan to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport, including requirements for the submission of a scheme to encourage use of sustainable modes of transport, implementation, monitoring and review of such scheme as required by the Council

4. the Developer and/or Owner to bear the Council legal costs in respect of the preparation of the legal agreement irrespective of whether or not it is completed

5. the variation of the original agreement to include any consequential changes resulting from 1-3 above and otherwise save as varied as above the original agreement dated 29 March 2012 shall remain in full force and effect.

The planning obligations recommended in the report had been subject to the statutory tests set out in Regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 and the obligations were considered to have satisfied the following criteria:-

(a)   Necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;

(b)   Directly related to the development; and

(c)  Fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the development.