Supplementary Planning Guidance on Planning Obligations for Education Facilities FOREWORD
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Supplementary Planning Guidance on Planning Obligations for Education Facilities FOREWORD This Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) identifies the main requirements for educational facilities, which may be required as a consequence of new development within the Borough. It also sets out the financial contributions, which will be sought by the Council, from applicants seeking planning consent for development, where that development generates a need for such facilities. The purpose of this document is to assist prospective developers by identifying the costs associated with their development. By providing this guidance the Council seeks to minimise uncertainty and time spent negotiating on individual planning applications and thus speed up the decision making process, in line with Government intentions for improving the planning system. This document was issued for an eight-week period of public consultation running from Thursday 8th July to Thursday 2nd September 2004 to enable members of the public and other interested parties to comment on its contents. The Council’s Cabinet considered representations received at its meeting on 16th November 2004. At the meeting, the Cabinet resolved to modify the document in light of the responses received and adopt it as Supplementary Planning Guidance. The Cabinet also resolved to use the annual Department for Education and Skills (DfES) figures on the average cost of providing a school place, and the relevant DfES cost multiplier for Milton Keynes, as the basis for seeking planning obligations for education facilities, and that this document be revised when the DfES produce new figures on the costs of providing a school place (including the local cost multiplier), without the need for a full scale review. This document will now be a material consideration in the determination of planning applications by Council and the Milton Keynes Partnership Committee* (MKPC). It will be reviewed on a regular basis. A statement of the public consultation undertaken on the draft SPG document, the representations received, and the Council’s response to those representations are available in a separate publication from the Council. If you require further information about this document please phone the Development Plans team on (01908) 252599, email [email protected], fax (01908) 252330 or write to the address overleaf. 1 Spatial Planning Division, Milton Keynes Council, PO Box 112, 1 Saxon Gate East, Milton Keynes MK9 3 HQ A copy of this document is also available on line from: http://www.mkweb.co.uk/local_plan_review/ Shenley Brook End Secondary School * Since the 7 June 2004, the Milton Keynes Partnership Committee has been the Development Control and Implementation Authority for a number of Urban Development Areas located on the edge of the Milton Keynes Urban Area, where large-scale urban expansion is planned. Within its area of jurisdiction, planning applications for development are submitted to the MKPC for determination. 2 PLANNING OBLIGATIONS FOR EDUCATION Developer Contributions for the Provision of Education 1.0 The Context 1.1 It is the view of Milton Keynes Council that landowners and developers should make provision for education infrastructure, the need for which arises from new developments. This is in line with Central Government expectations that local authorities should obtain significant contributions from developers, where new housing increases demand for school places1. 1.2 This principle is supported by Circular 1/97: Planning Obligations, which states that the planning system should operate in the public interest and should aim to foster sustainable development in a way that adds to, rather than detracts from, the quality of the environment. 1.3 Paragraph B10 specifically refers to education facilities, provided that these are related to the development proposal, the need for them arises from its implementation and they are related in scale and kind. Paragraph B12 notes that developers may reasonably be expected to pay for, or contribute to, the cost of the infrastructure, which would not have been necessary but for their development. 1.4 The support for this principle is also contained in policies CF4 of the Adopted Borough of Milton Keynes Local Plan and policies PO1, PO2 and PO5 of the second deposit Milton Keynes Local Plans (see Appendix 1 for a copy of these policies). 1.5 In essence, the Council’s objective is for developers to meet the costs of education provision arising from development, to avoid these additional costs falling on the public purse. 2.0 Interpretation of Policy 2.1 Milton Keynes Council will only seek contributions in circumstances where it identifies there is a demonstrable need arising from the development. Where it is considered that a development will place an unacceptable strain on existing educational infrastructure, the Council may refuse the development. 2.2 The manner of education provision will vary, depending on where the development is located in the Borough and the size of the proposed development. It could involve land and buildings for a new school and / or 1 Investment to support the provision of new pupil places in schools, Consultation Paper August 2002: DfES, paragraph 2.7 3 an extension to an existing school to increase capacity or improve facilities, so that the school can meet the needs of the additional pupils. Occasionally, contributions from the development of several sites together will enable school capacity improvements. 2.3 Circular 1/97 makes it clear that maintenance or revenue costs should not normally be sought; however there is a potential exception, this being the costs of school transport in the interim period before a new school or extension is funded and /or completed for the children arising from the development. 2.4 Generally the Council will endeavour to recover the capital costs of the works necessitated by the development. These are represented by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) figures shown in paragraph 6.1. 2.5 Building and construction costs will be indexed in section 106 legal agreements to allow for changes in costs and prices over time. Initially, November 2004 will be taken as the base. Building and construction costs do not follow the Retail Price Index (RPI) as they are determined more by the volume of work being carried out or in the pipeline at the time. The two price indices most commonly used to assess these costs are The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), published by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), and the Building Price and Cost Indices, published by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The BCIS gives a cost analysis of various types of buildings as well as forecasts of tender and building costs, and the DTI publication gives a series of indices of historic costs as well as future projections. The Council will use the most appropriate of these two sets of indices to provide a guide to the construction and other costs of new infrastructure and facilities that are required. Landowners and developers will also be required to pay the Council reasonable legal costs in negotiation, preparation and completion of the Section 106 or other agreement, and pending completion, this will need to be supported by a solicitors undertaking. 3.0 Scope of Policy 3.1 Contributions will normally be required if the proposal is or is likely to be for 10 or more dwellings or if any of the catchment area schools are already reaching or over permanent capacity. This will include sites where the site is sub-divided into smaller sites or phases, where the whole site amounts to more than 10 dwellings. Owing to resource implications, contributions will not normally be sought on sites smaller than this. However contributions offered by developers on these smaller sites would be accepted where there is a need for additional education provision. 3.2 Contributions will not be sought where older persons’ housing is being proposed because this type of housing will have no impact on local education facilities. Where older persons’ housing is part of a larger scheme incorporating other types of housing, any need for contribution will 4 be assessed on the whole scheme minus the older persons housing element. 3.3 Contributions will be sought from all other types of housing including affordable housing. Our research shows that affordable housing generates similar numbers of children to market housing, therefore there is no case for excluding this type of housing from contribution assessments. However it is acknowledged that on sites where the proposed development is 100% affordable housing, a reduced amount will be sought in recognition of the need to minimise costs to ensure the houses are affordable. Education contributions will not be sought from one-bed flats within a development. 3.4 The phasing of contributions will normally be agreed on a site-by-site basis. A recent example of this saw the Council agree with the owner to pay instalments towards educational facilities on occupation of the 50th dwelling (or within one year of the grant of planning permission) and then subsequently on occupation of the 100th, 150th and final dwelling (or within 2, 3 or 4 years of the grant of planning permission- whichever is the sooner). 4.0 Outline, full applications and renewals 4.1 Contributions will be sought in relation to outline or full applications for planning consent for residential development, which are likely to result in the need for additional education provision. Contributions will also be sought in relation to renewals for consent for residential development where there has been a significant change in the school capacity situation since planning consent was first granted. 4.2 In the case of outline applications where no information is given on the number of dwellings proposed, the Council will assume an indicative density for the site, depending on its location in the Borough, in line with the densities set out in Policy H8 of the second deposit Local Plan (see Appendix 1).