Section 34: Planning obligations: financial agreements
184.Section 34 of the Act amends section 75 of the 1997 Act to modify the description of a planning obligation.
185.Subsection (2) broadens the scope of what a planning obligation can comprise.
186.Subsection (2)(b) inserts a new subsection (1A) into section 75 of the 1997 Act which defines a planning obligation so that it can be an obligation which restricts or regulates the use of land, and can also be an obligation which requires the payment of a specified amount or periodical sums. This is not a brand new provision, but represents a reframing of the existing provisions; new subsection (1A) replaces text removed by subsection (2)(a) of the Act.
187.Subsection (2)(d)(i) inserts paragraph (aa) into section 75(3) of the 1997 Act and so retains the current flexibility which allows planning obligations to be imposed either permanently or during such a period as is specified in the relevant instrument.
188.The remaining provisions of section 34 of the Act reflect the restructuring of the section.
189.The effect of these changes is to alter the definition of a planning obligation so as to include the restriction or regulation of the development or the use of land, and the requirement for the payment of a specified amount or periodical sums. The existing section 75 allows for such payments, but only as part of an obligation which also restricted or regulated the development or use of land.
