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Planning obligations : a development perspective

This research aims to examine planning obligations, by answering if and how they affect property development and who pays for them. Planning obligations require developers to make in-kind or cash cont~butions p~or to the granting of planning consent. Uniquely in the UK, developers negotiate with local authoritie~ over the extent and scope of these contributions. The foci of this research relate to questions of who pays for planning obligations; what are the economic impacts of planning obligations on development;ยท and do local authoIjties and . developers have conflicting views during their negotiations? Planning obligations are a topical policy issue, as the Government is proposing to change the way they are implemented. The theoretical framework has two themes relating to the principles of land value taxation and development charges (a generic term for planning obligations), and to negotiation theories that explore the conditions under which satisfactory agreements can be reached. This research contributes to a significant gap in the UK literature when compared to the more economic approaches common in United States and elsewhere. The approach is also innovative because it introduces negotiation theories to the understanding of the current framework of planning obligations. Theories are discussed and elaborated within the context of case studies of recent practice in the Southern England borough councils of Basingstoke and Deane, Bracknell Forest, Fareham, Medway, Rushmoor and Test Valley. ii The thesis consists of four parts. The first part introduces the concept of developer charges and the specific British context of planning obligations. The second part investigates the economics of land taxation and development charges, and it identifies the applicable negotiation theories within an institutional framework. The third part sets out the methodology and the findings of the case study analysis. That analysis is based on detailed questionnaire results and interview findings aimed at revealing planners' and developers' views with regard to planning obligations and their negotiation strategies. Finally, the implications of the findings are discussed. It is argued that planning obligations do affect property development. Many planners think that developers alone bear the burden of this tax, rather than other agents. As a result of this and other factors, it is concluded that the present local institutional arrangements for negotiating planning obligations are unlikely to achieve optimum results.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:271787
Date January 2002
CreatorsBall, Asli
PublisherLondon South Bank University
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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