This meeting was an information briefing for the Development Control Committee. A report was provided that updated the committee on the Section 106¹ Agreements that Bromley Council had entered into. The briefing would only be debated if requested by a member of the Committee.

Section 106 Agreements

The report pack provided to attendees for this meeting included the SECTION 106 AGREEMENTS: UPDATE report that was previously submitted to the Executive, Resources and Contracts PDS Committee on 25 November 2024.

The report provided details of the status of Section 106 Agreements in the London Borough of Bromley. These agreements are a mechanism by which local authorities can secure contributions from developers towards new infrastructure and services needed as a result of new development.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1 of the report listed 21 agreements that were signed between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.

The report stated:

Removing those that are variations to existing agreements (3, two deeds of variation and one revised agreement), there were 18 new agreements, one of which pursuant to a council scheme (Bromley North).

These new agreements included:

• An agreement for the construction of 75 new homes with commercial space at the Car Park, Station Road in Bromley, of which 38 were to be affordable, along with cycle parking, disabled parking with charging points for electric vehicles, and an outdoor space.
• An agreement for the part demolition, conversion, restoration, and extension of the Old Town Hall Building in Bromley. The proposal was for the provision of office space, 24 hotel bedrooms, a food and drinking establishment, a five storey residential scheme of 57 apartments, basement parking for 26 cars, and cycle spaces.
• An agreement for the demolition of buildings at 306 - 310 Court Road, Orpington and the erection of a 72-bed care home.
• An agreement for the erection of an Endoscopy Unit at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough.
• An agreement for the partial redevelopment of Capel Manor College in Mottingham that would involve the demolition of seven buildings and the erection of two new buildings.

Appendix 2

Appendix 2 of the report listed the Section 106 agreements that had been signed since 1 April 2018 that contain financial requirements. This list included agreements that were already being implemented and agreements that were expected to be implemented in the future.

The report stated that:

This reports a potential £18.7m worth of payments to be made to the Council, of which £11.3m has been triggered, with £9m received to date (the remaining £2.3m becoming payable at future points in the development timeline – such as prior to occupation of the development).

The list of 'live' agreements included:

• The redevelopment of the site of the Flamingo Park Club in Chislehurst. The proposal was for the demolition of the existing buildings and structures on the site, the removal of hard standing, and the construction of a new football ground with a clubhouse, stands, a floodlit artificial playing pitch, external sports pitches, and 42 dwellings.
• The redevelopment of Maybrey Business Park on Worsley Bridge Road in Copers Cope. The proposal was for the demolition of the existing buildings and the construction of new buildings ranging in height from five to nine storeys to provide 159 residential units and 10,990 sq m of commercial floorspace, as well as a residents gym.
• The redevelopment of the GlaxoSmithKline site on South Eden Park Road in Beckenham. The proposal was for the redevelopment of the site to provide 280 residential units, a care home for the elderly, the retention of a sports pavilion and spine road, and new open space.
• A proposal to erect a 6FE Secondary Boys School on St Hugh's Playing Fields on Bickley Road in Bickley. The proposal involved the construction of a part two-storey, part three-storey building with a sports hall.
• The demolition of buildings at Land at Junction With South Eden Park Road And, Bucknall Way in Beckenham and the erection of 6 four-storey buildings, including 10 four-bedroom houses and 133 one, two and three-bedroom apartments, a concierge office, a basement car park, a central landscaped area, cycle parking, and refuse storage.

Appendix 3

Appendix 3 of the report recorded the total amount of money held by the Council from Section 106 contributions at the end of 31 March 2024, which was £9.9m. This amount included £7.1m that had already been allocated to future projects, leaving £2.8m that was uncommitted.

Appendix 4

Appendix 4 of the report showed that the council had spent £256,840 during the 2023/24 financial year, and that there was £7.2m of allocated funding that had not yet been spent.

Included in the list of allocated projects were:

• £515,000 for Affordable Housing at the Bromley North development
• £489,918 for the Bromley Health and Well-being Centre
• £640,750 for the refurbishment of the Walnuts and West Wickham leisure centres
• £123,117 for electric refuse collection vehicles
• £95,480 for disabled renovations grants

The report stated that some of this allocated funding may already have been spent, and that a significant amount of the unallocated £2.8m related to health and public realm improvements in Bromley Town Centre

Appendix 5

Appendix 5 of the report showed that the council had received £267,957 in Section 106 contributions between 1 April 2024 and 26 September 2024. It also showed that the total balance held by the Council as of 26 September 2024 was £10.1m.

Policy Implications

The report also considered the local and national planning policies relevant to Section 106 agreements, including Policy 125 of the Bromley Local Plan 2019, the Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010, the National Planning Policy Framework, the London Plan, and the Bromley Supplementary Planning Document on Planning Obligations.

Financial Implications

The report stated that there were no direct financial implications arising from the report, and provided a breakdown of the S106 balance by service area.

Legal Implications

The report considered the legal framework for Section 106 Agreements and explained what they can be used for, how they can be modified, and when they have to be spent.

Carbon Reduction/Social Value Implications

The report noted that:

The council secures improvements to Carbon Reduction and Sustainability measures as part of the award of planning permission. In some cases, where this cannot be met in the development design, alternative provision or the payment of an in-lieu contribution is made as a ‘Carbon Offset Payment’. Details of such payments due, received and expenditure are detailed in Appendix 2, 3 and 4.

The report did not describe in detail what the social value implications of the Section 106 agreements were.