Simple Compliance With Section 106 Agreements

A Section 106 agreement is a legally binding planning obligation between a developer and the local planning authority, attached to a planning permission. Its purpose is to mitigate the impact of a new development on the local community and infrastructure, often by funding or delivering facilities such as schools, nurseries, community halls, sports pavilions or health centres. The specific obligations vary with the size, location and local needs of the development. It is a delivery and funding mechanism, not a framework or accreditation.

Section 106 contributions help offset the impact of a development on local services and infrastructure. Common uses include new education buildings such as classrooms, nurseries and SEND facilities, affordable housing, healthcare buildings such as GP surgeries, community facilities such as halls and youth centres, transport and highways improvements, and green spaces. Where the obligation calls for a physical building rather than a cash contribution, a developer often appoints a delivery partner to design, build and hand it over within the agreed timeframe.

In most cases yes. A modular building for community, education or commercial use generally needs planning permission, just as a traditional build does, although our buildings are permanent rather than temporary structures. Because our designs form part of the wider development, we work with you and your planning consultants through outline permission, Reserved Matters and Building Regulations. We can act as principal designer and principal contractor, so the planning detail for your community building is handled within one accountable team.

Both are developer contributions, but they work differently. The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a fixed charge per square metre of new floorspace, set by the local authority and pooled for general infrastructure. Section 106 is negotiated case by case and is tied directly to a specific development, often requiring a named facility to be delivered. Some developments are subject to both. Where Section 106 requires an actual building, that is where a turnkey delivery partner like us comes in.

Programme depends on the size and complexity of the building, so we do not quote a fixed week count. What we can say is that off-site manufacture is significantly faster than traditional construction, because we make much of the building in our workshop while groundworks happen on site in parallel. This approach helps developers meet completion triggers tied to wider construction milestones. We agree a clear programme with you up front and design the delivery around the rest of your development.

Yes. A single Section 106 agreement can require more than one facility, for example both a new nursery and a community hall, or a school block alongside a sports pavilion. Because we work from a bespoke panelised system with in-house architects, we can design and deliver several different building types within the same development under one point of contact. That keeps coordination simple and gives you a consistent standard across every building the agreement requires.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requires most developments in England to deliver a measurable improvement in biodiversity. We can help reduce the remedial work needed on site by building in features such as green roofs and integrated planters, and our biophilic design approach makes the most of planting, daylight and connection to the outdoors. Where a development needs a specific environmental standard, we can also design to a target BREEAM score. It is best to involve us early so these features are planned into the design.

Under Section 106 the developer either pays the local authority to deliver the facility or delivers it directly, often through a partner like us, which can be more cost-certain and schedule-certain. The agreement then sets out ownership and operation, frequently transferring to the authority, a school or a community group. Where the eventual operator is a school or trust that prefers to spread cost, lease funding is also available on our timber-frame buildings: a 10-year term with no upfront capital, under the IFRS 16 Maintained Schools Secretary of State Finance Lease Class Consent 2024, with the building designed for around 40 years of useful life beyond the lease.