The Government is set to introduce standardised planning agreement templates for medium-sized housing developments in England.

It has launched a consultation about the proposals for housing sites delivering between 10 and 49 homes, on land of up to 2.5 hectares.

The four standard templates are:

Bilateral agreement comprising standard clauses template and schedules for financial contributions and the council’s covenants

Unilateral undertaking comprising standard clauses template and a schedule for financial contributions

Affordable housing schedule for full planning permissions, including a discretionary cascade mechanism

Affordable housing schedule for outline planning permissions

The proposal comes after a new category of ‘medium development’ was included in the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for housing schemes of 10 to 49 homes on sites of up to 2.5 hectares.

The proposals may bring greater consistency to the process of planning obligations and help speed up the process but must still allow room for negotiation and the particular circumstances of  any given development.

The consultation closes on 20 October. We will examine the proposals in detail and make our representations.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to find out how this will affect your plans, site, land or project.