ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ

Section 106 (or S106) refers to a section in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, by which housing developers can be obliged to make contributions to local authorities to mitigate any adverse impact of their development on the local infrastructure. This includes the impact on education provision.

Provision of sufficient good quality school places is crucial in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to gain the vital knowledge, skills and qualifications needed for a bright start in life.

The Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure there are sufficient school places for all children resident in ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ who wish to attend a state-funded school which includes academies and free schools, The statutory duty under the Education Act includes having regard to the need to secure provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The Council also has a duty to ensure all eligible under-fives have access to high quality free early education places, either within school-run provision or with private, independent or voluntary providers.

New housing tends to attract younger families with pre-school and school-aged children and young people, and this has an impact on local schools and early years providers. Where the additional demand for school and early years places can’t be met within the existing provision, the developer can be required to make a financial contribution towards the cost of increasing education places locally, to mitigate the impact that their development will make on education infrastructure.

The Policy document ‘Education Planning Obligations ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ’ was the subject of a full public consultation between 6 May and 17 June 2025 and was approved by Cabinet and adopted from 1 October 2025. 

The Policy sets out the approach the Council will take in calculating appropriate mitigation from new housing. This approach will involve close working with local planning authorities. This document should be read alongside relevant planning policies and supplementary planning documents which may be adopted from time to time both nationally and for each local planning authority in ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ.

For planning applications valid from 1 October 2025 onwards:

• ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ Education Planning Obligations Policy Oct 2025 (PDF)

For planning applications valid prior to October 2025:

• ÇÑ×ÓÊÓƵ Education Planning Obligations Policy 2025 (PDF)

Supporting documents

• Table of Charges Document 2025 (PDF)
• Pupil Yield from Housing Review 2024 - Review Findings (PDF)

The Council welcomes and encourages approaches from developers at an early stage to help identify the potential impact of housing development and the mitigation that is likely to be required.