AQW 24093/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 10/03/2025
Answered On Date: 19/03/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether her Department has undertaken a review of Section 76 Planning Agreements to assess their effectiveness in securing social housing contributions.

Answer:

Planning agreements are voluntary but legally binding and some councils will use them more than others. My Department does not review councils’ use of planning agreements.

A planning agreement can potentially be used to ensure a development is occupied by a defined use or user. For example, it may be used to secure a proportion of affordable housing or social housing in a new development or a mix of tenure in a housing development. This could be where a need has been established, possibly through a policy requirement or as a key site requirement of a Local Development Plan and where a planning condition may not give the appropriate level of detail or security of outcome to be delivered.