<b><b>Joshua Risso-Gill of law firm Denton Wilde Sapte looks at section 106 agreements and how they can be used to your advantage</b></b><br><b>For most developers, I suspect that commitments under section 106 agreements, often referred to as planning gain, are seen as a necessary evil, to be deducted from a scheme's development profit. </b><br><b>But section 106 obligations, whether as agreements with planning authorities or unilateral undertakings given by the developer can be a useful tool for all concerned. A planning authority can secure a wide of range of benefits through a legally enforceable mechanism, while the developer can legitimately offer benefits related to the impact of a particular development, which, in either case, must be material to the grant of consent. Like planning conditions, carefully negotiated planning obligations can add significant value to the process of securing consent. Much of the practical advice in relation to conditions (See <i>HouseBuilder</i>: June 2001) also applies to 106s: </b><br><b>&amp;"Properly used, planning obligations may enhance the quality of development and enable proposals to go ahead which might otherwise be refused. They should however, be relevant to planning and directly related to the proposed development if they are to influence a decision on a planning application. …