CIL and pooling S106 contributions - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

CIL Reg 123 (3) states: '(3) A planning obligation ("obligation A") may not constitute a reason for granting planning permission to the extent that— (a) obligation A provides for the funding or provision of an infrastructure project or type of infrastructure; and (b) five or more separate planning obligations that— (i) relate to planning permissions granted for development within the area of the charging authority; and (ii) which provide for the funding or provision of that project, or type of infrastructure, have been entered into before the date that obligation A was entered into.' We are quite confused with this regulation and have a few differing ideas of exactly what it means. Point (a) appears to be quite straightforward in that it is saying that planning obligations should not fund any infrastructure that appears on the Council's "Reg 123 List" of infrastructure to be funded by CIL so as to avoid "double dipping". Point (b) about the pooling of planning obligations seems a little harder to decipher. Does it mean: - 1. That no more than 4 seperate planning obligations can be pooled together towards one single project? or 2. That you can pool up to and including 5 obligations, but if 5 or more obligations exist towards one project then you cannot pool any more? If it is the second one, then I assume that as many obligations as you like could be pooled together as long as the Legal Agreements were all signed before 6 April 2014/adoption of CIL (whichever comes first)? But, if you had 7 or 8 obligations contributing to the same project on the date you adopted CIL and then another application came in you could not sign another planning obligation to contribute towards theat same project?