Sport England

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Changes to Planning Obligations: a PPlanning-gain Supplement cconsultation

The Government announced, on 6th December 2006, that it will move forward with the implementation of the Planning Gain Supplement if, after further consultation, it continues to be deemed workable and effective.
The statement:

•asserts that PGS, together with a scaled back planning obligations system, represents a fairer and more effective means of releasing land value than the main alternative, a system of planning tariffs;

•suggests PGS would apply to residential and non-residential development;

•suggests at least 70 per cent of PGS revenues would be hypothecated for local infrastructure priorities and would be returned to the local authority area in which they were generated;

•suggests the remaining funds would be returned to the regions to help finance strategic infrastructure projects;

•at the local level, the use of PGS funds could also be subject to the new performance management framework set out in the Local Government White Paper, 2006

•suggests the new system would not now be introduced until 2009 at the earliest.

Three consultation papers have been published, the deadline for responses being 28 February 2007. Two of the papers relate to valuation and payment details. These are:

•Valuing Planning gain: a Planning-gain Supplement consultation paper; and

•Paying PGS – A Planning-gain Supplement technical consultation paper.

Implications for Sport

The third paper Changes to planning Obligations: A Planning-gain Supplement Consultation, is available on the DCLG web site. The paper:

•Acknowledges ‘sport facilities: sport fields, club houses etc’ and ‘provision of open space either within a development or as a direct payment to the LA. Usually a formula calculation’, as currently within the scope of planning obligations

This statement does not however reflect the full scope of existing planning obligations for sport and recreation which include also built facilities such as swimming pools and sports halls, as well as Multi Use Games areas, and provision for sports such as bowls and tennis.

•Proposes a criteria based approach to defining what is included in the ‘development site approach’, although accepting that replacement facilities on site would remain within the scope of planning obligations rather than the PGS.

The proposed approach does not remove uncertainty and potential complexity in negotiating replacement and new sports provisions in association with development, or in matching contributions made under the parallel PGS and planning obligation regimes and which may apply to the same facility.

•A suggestion that the provision of land for community, including sports, facilities in large developments could be included within the scope of planning obligations.

This would be a valuable step in helping to secure appropriate sites for sport and recreation facilities in locations which aid sustainability.
Sport England considers there remains much work to do to further validate the PGS approach.

In particular there is little guidance on how any monies collected by the tax will be re-cycled to identified sports (and other) priorities at the local authority level. Also how far, and in what detail, local authorities will need to specify sports (and other) infrastructure needs and priorities at local level in order to receive re-cycled monies has received less attention.

Sport England would like to work with the Government on these and allied aspects relating to sport and recreation in any reformed system of planning obligations.

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