Section 106: Guidance on the use of planning obligations for Welsh ...

CHAPTER 8:
PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
Aims
8.1 This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the importance and role
of public or community involvement in the development, negotiation and
implementation of planning obligations and to illustrate how LPAs are
currently engaging and involving the public in obligations policy and
practice.
The importance and role of community involvement in
planning obligations
8.2 Community involvement is one of the key principles at the heart of
delivering sustainable development. In the context of planning obligations,
the community (i.e. business, residents, voluntary sector and other
stakeholder bodies), should be involved wherever possible and
appropriate in the setting of planning obligations policies and the
negotiation of planning obligations for individual applications. They should
be given access to all necessary information to help inform their
involvement.
8.3 Often members of the community will have concerns about the impact of
new development on their quality of life and community. Planning
obligations can go some way towards addressing these concerns by
mitigating the impacts of new development and otherwise ensuring
development is acceptable in planning terms. It is also important to
reassure and demonstrate to members of the community that obligations
are being used solely for the purpose of making developments acceptable,
and to displace any concerns that planning permission is being “bought or
sold”. As such it is particularly important that the public are given a role
where appropriate in the development, adoption and implementation of
planning obligations and that the process is carried out in an open,
transparent and accountable manner.
8.4 In particular Members of a Local Planning Authority, with the exception of
Planning Committee Members, may seek to influence the key components
of a legal agreement based on local knowledge of community needs. In
such cases and in addition to the Member involvement guidance referred
to in WO Circular 06/06, an approved protocol needs to be established
which clearly defines the roles, responsibilities and timescale within which
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