Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said he is concerned that too much development is being stalled because of “economically unrealistic agreements” negotiated between councils and developers at the height of the housing boom.
The deals, known legally as Section 106 agreements, require developers to make a financial contribution to the community or provide housing, amenities or infrastructure as part of their planning permission.
Pickles said that teams of expert brokers will now offer a free-of-charge advice and support service to help kickstart renegotiations of these deals to stop them being a barrier to getting building underway. The teams will provide technical expertise to unlock negotiations, act as go-betweens in disputes and offer access to a range of support services.
The middlemen will begin work immediately with an initial wave of councils that are keen to address obstacles that are preventing development in their area before working with other councils around the country.
Pickles said: “Tackling problems with stalled development is essential to getting builders back on moth-balled sites and building the homes we need. There is huge potential in sites to boost local economies and we simply cannot afford to have them lying idle because of earlier agreements that are no longer viable.
“The support and advice the expert brokers will offer is one of the many measures we have introduced to get development underway and I hope councils grab this chance to make use of the support we are offering.”
Councils in Leeds, Ipswich, Corby, Swindon, Ashford, Gloucester, Kirklees, Carlisle, Northumberland and Durham will the first to benefit from the support offered by the expert brokers and will identify key stalled sites they want to see back up and running.
