You will have seen in the planning journals that DCLG (through ATLAS in the HCA) are providing a package of support to help parties to review unimplemented planning consents, and consider those cases where S106 obligations may be preventing delivery. All will no doubt have their own view on the many factors at play that are preventing things from happening and it's clear that planning and S106 obligations will not be the main issue in all cases. However there will be some projects where some reconsideration may be suitable, and may enable development to happen where both the Local Authority and developer want it to. The initiative builds on the good work done over recent years which looked at the role of mediation as one potential tool that planners could use. A panel of mediators has been put in place, and could help parties to review and find solutions to help unblock stalled schemes. Further support could be available to provide other relevant technical expertise in areas such as viability. The initiative was launched in August 2012 across a small number of first wave Local Authorities. It is now being broadened with an invitation to all local authorities and the private sector to submit appropriate sites (containing over 50 units) for consideration. If you know of a site that may benefit from support, the link below provides more information about the criteria and process to follow, with an initial deadline for further expressions of interest by 14th Jan 2013: http://www.homesandcommunities.co.uk/ourwork/s106
