Archived decisions

Developers' Contributions towards Education Facilities

March 2003

Strategic Planning Unit

Education Department

The Castle

Winchester

Hampshire SO23 8UG

    1. Introduction

    1.1 Central government guidance on developers' contributions is given in DETR Circular 1/97. This indicates that it is reasonable for contributions to be requested, at an appropriate level, where it can be shown that there is a need for additional educational facilities as a direct consequence of development. This has been backed by appeal decisions. Hitherto, the application of this principle by Hampshire Local Education Authority has not been the subject of any published guidelines, but has been applied on an ad-hoc basis, mostly in relation to primary schools. The purpose of this document is to establish consistent, and open, criteria so that Local Planning Authorities and Developers can make informed decisions. Following consultation during 2002, this paper includes some changes from current practice relating to the threshold for the size of development from which contributions are sought, and the application of similar principles to secondary schools and other facilities.

    2. When are contributions expected?

    2.1 With the emphasis on sites identified in Urban Capacity Studies and greater use of brownfield sites, it is likely that there will be more reliance on smaller sites to meet housing targets. Consequently, District and Borough Planning Departments should consult Hampshire LEA on any planning proposals relating to a development of 10 dwellings or more. This consultation should take place when sites are allocated in local plans, when development briefs are published and when planning applications are received. This should ensure that developers are aware of the requirement for an education contribution from the outset.

    2.2 In some cases, where the availability of sufficient school places is particularly critical, contributions should be sought in relation to each additional dwelling. These areas will be agreed with individual local planning authorities.

    2.3 In order to satisfy the requirement in Circular 1/97 that contributions should only be sought where there is a direct impact from development, the LEA will make an assessment of the extent of any existing surplus capacity in schools in the area, using data published each year in its School Organisation Plan. This will indicate the extent to which additional capacity will be required to cater for the additional demand. This can be referred to as the "sufficiency" factor. In the interests of integrating new development into existing communities and to promote sustainability principles relating to reducing reliance on the motor car, it will normally be assumed that a new development will be served by the nearest schools, so it may not be appropriate to take into account any surplus capacity further away.

    2.4 In those cases where there will be a shortfall in places to meet the assessed demand, the amount of contribution can be calculated in accordance with the formula set out in paragraph 5.2 below.

    2.5 Even where there is apparently sufficient capacity to cater for all, or part, of the additional demand, there may still be a need for additional facilities at a school. The reason for this is that the method of assessing capacity does not take full account of the need for schools to have dedicated space for specialist facilities, such as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). Also, the trend towards inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream schools means that schools need spaces which can be used for individual or small group teaching, which is unlikely to have been provided in the original room allocations. In other words, schools which have theoretical spare capacity will be using those spaces for legitimate educational uses, which will need to be rehoused before those teaching spaces can be brought back into use for general class use. There may also be factors, such as an undersized hall, which would mean that it would be difficult to meet present day educational requirements if the school was full to capacity. These can be referred to as "suitability" issues.

    2.6 Suitability issues are assessed as part of the Asset Management Plan for the school. It is not unreasonable for a developers' contribution to be sought where it is necessary to remove limitations so that existing nominal capacity can be fully used to meet additional demand from a development. The cost of alleviation will vary, but a possible approach to establishing a reasonable level of contribution is given in paragraph 5.3 below.

    2.7 New housing will have an impact on sufficiency and suitability of secondary school places. It is, therefore, proposed that developers' contributions should be sought towards both primary and secondary schools.

    2.8 Some of the proposals in this paper are changes from existing practice. Since it is not reasonable to seek contributions retrospectively, it is suggested that the full application of the revised policy should not apply to sites where outline planning permission has already been granted and a Section 106 agreement completed..

    3. School sites

    3.1 In most cases, additional accommodation will be provided at existing schools. This is particularly so with brownfield development and increases within existing urban areas. There may, however, be some large brownfield sites (particularly former MoD land or hospital sites) where it is appropriate to provide new schools. This may also apply to greenfield sites and, almost certainly, to Major Development Areas. In all cases where a new school is required to cater for new development, the LEA will expect the developer to provide, within the required timescales, a fully serviced and accessible site free of charge, in addition to the normal level of contributions towards school buildings. The LEA should be consulted early in any master planning of such developments in order to ensure that any proposed school sites are appropriate and suitable for its requirements.

    3.2 Where a large development is shared between several developers, it may be appropriate to make provision in the Section 106 agreements so that the burden falls on all those involved. If this is the case, it will be necessary to discuss the exact mechanism that is applicable.

    4. How many places are required?

    4.1 In order to assess the demand arising from a new development, the LEA uses the following factors:

    Primary Schools (ages 4 to 11) - 0.25 children per dwelling

    Secondary Schools (ages 11 to 16) - 0.18 children per dwelling

    The lower secondary factor is because secondary school cater for five years, compared with seven for primary schools.

    4.2 These factors assume a mixed development in terms of size and tenure of units. It is not, therefore, appropriate to make any deduction in respect of "social" or "affordable" housing, as these will still increase the overall number of dwellings in an area which can be occupied by families with children. It is, however, not unreasonable to disregard one bedroom flats and units provided solely for elderly persons.

    5. What level of contribution is required?

    5.1 In cases where a sufficiency factor has been identified, it is possible to put a monetary value on the cost of providing additional school places. Although the actual cost will vary with the individual school, depending on factors such as the type of building, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) publishes each year a "cost multiplier" which it considers to be a reasonable cost of providing additional school places. This includes a regional adjustment to reflect the actual costs involved in the local area. In the case of Hampshire, the cost multipliers for the 2003/04 financial year are £7,375 per place at primary schools and £10,710 at secondary schools.

    5.2 Applying these cost multipliers to the numbers of additional children expected from new housing, the following level of contribution per dwelling can be derived:

    Primary Schools - £1,844 per dwelling unit

    Secondary Schools - £1,928 per dwelling unit

    These figures will, of course, be discounted where some, but not all, of the additional demand can be met within the existing capacity of the school, subject to consideration of suitability factors.

    5.3 As mentioned above, the cost of alleviating suitability factors will vary, depending on individual circumstances. The Asset Management Plan allocates ratings to individual schools. The DfES recommends that each teaching space is placed in one of four categories - A to D - in descending order of adverse impact. It is intended that, nationally, there will be a formula for allocating monetary values to each of these impacts, but this will take some time to devise and agree. In the meantime, it is suggested that, for the purpose of calculating a reasonable level of contributions, in those cases where part of the demand has to be met within the existing capacity of a school where 30% or more of the teaching spaces are in Categories A or B, a contribution level of 50% of the figures in paragraph 5.2 should apply.

    5.4 As an alternative, where a specific facility can be identified and costed, for example where a primary school lacks an adequate school hall, the contribution could be based on the estimated cost.

    6. The mechanism for obtaining contributions

    6.1 The LEA accepts that it is dependent on local planning authorities for obtaining contributions. As mentioned above, consultation should take place at several stages. Firstly, there should be a local plan policy that sets out the framework. Secondly, specific requirements can be identified in development briefs. Thirdly, detailed discussion, and negotiation if necessary, can take place when planning applications are received. The Strategic Planning Unit of the Education Department is happy to take part at all of these stages, although to avoid unnecessary workload, we will be happy to discuss a protocol whereby local planning officers can assess contribution requirements on behalf of the LEA (particularly where it is agreed that the threshold for contributions should be reduced to single units).

    6.2 The agreed requirements are usually included as obligations in a Section 106 agreement. This should normally be drawn up by the County Council (Chief Executive's Department) or as part of a joint County and District/Borough agreement.

    6.3 Section 106 agreements should provide for the agreed contributions to be index-linked to an index of building costs and for appropriate triggers for payment, related to the intended phasing of development. Normally there would be a requirement that contributions are applied to the education facilities required to serve the development. There would also normally be a time limit beyond which unspent contributions should be refunded. This should be not less than ten years (in the case of primary schools) or fifteen years (in the case of secondary schools) as it may be necessary to collect contributions from several small developments before a meaningful capital project can be started.

    7. Contributions towards other facilities

    7.1 In addition to the provision of schools for children of statutory school age, the LEA is responsible for securing that there is adequate provision for pre-school education (although not normally as a provider itself). Traditionally, pre-school playgroups have been considered as potential users of community buildings. However, with the increasing requirements for facilities and numbers of sessions that have to be offered, there is a trend towards pre-school providers looking for exclusive use of space. This will also facilitate the establishment of full day care and after school clubs.

    7.2 The LEA hopes that local planning authorities will bear this in mind in considering allocations of space for, and contributions towards the cost of providing, community facilities within any new development. The LEA will produce a formula, similar to that for primary schools, to assess the appropriate level of demand for pre-school facilities and this will be the subject of further consultation with local planning authorities in due course.

    7.3 In large developments, of 1,000 houses or more, there may also be a requirement for facilities for the Youth Service. This will need to be the subject of individual discussion in appropriate cases.

    8. Status of this paper

    8.1 This paper was adopted as LEA policy on ......... and is offered as guidance to local planning authorities. However, the principles will form part of the County Council's proposed Supplementary Planning Guidance on Developers' Contributions, Infrastructure Provision, Service Requirements and Negotiating Protocol.

    8.2 This paper will be revised periodically in the light of changes to the DfES Cost Multipliers and on completion of further consideration of specific issues raised.

Any enquiries about the content of this paper should be addressed to:

Ian Lawson

Strategic Planning Officer

Hampshire County Council Education Department

The Castle

Winchester

Hampshire SO23 8UG

Telephone: 01962 846350

e-mail: [email protected]