S106 ā€“ Planning Obligations Alignment
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Copy-Ready Wording
Use this paragraph in planning or landscape documentation where supporting measures for resident behaviour, garden management or long-term environmental quality are relevant alongside S106 obligations.
The Self-Sustaining Garden programme is not a Section 106 obligation and does not fulfil, replace or contribute to any legal requirements secured through a planning agreement. It provides residents with clear, practical guidance that helps them manage private gardens in ways that support soil health, planting resilience and low-impact use of outdoor space. This can complement, but not substitute for, the secured landscape and ecological commitments set out within a S106 agreement.
What S106 Requires
Section 106 (S106) planning obligations are legally binding commitments used to secure:
- delivery of specified infrastructure or open space
- implementation of ecological mitigation or enhancement
- long-term management and maintenance arrangements
- funding or contributions towards agreed measures
- performance standards defined by the planning authority
Only obligations written into the legal agreement itself can discharge S106 requirements.
What the Programme Does Not Do
The SSG programme:
- Does not form part of any S106 legal agreement
- Does not discharge planning obligations or compliance requirements
- Does not replace secured management and maintenance arrangements
- Must not be presented as an ecological mitigation or enhancement measure
- Must not be used as evidence of meeting enforceable conditions or obligations
How the Programme Supports S106 Delivery
Although not part of any legal agreement, the programme can help support the intent of S106-secured landscape and ecological measures by reducing post-occupation risks and encouraging positive resident behaviour.
It helps residents:
- Maintain healthy, permeable soils adjacent to managed open spaces
- Avoid actions that disturb or degrade planting secured through S106 commitments
- Support establishment of boundary or structural planting
- Reduce behaviours that lead to complaints, misuse or deterioration of shared landscape areas
- Use their outdoor space in a way that aligns with long-term maintenance objectives
These behaviours help protect the quality and longevity of wider landscape measures secured through S106 agreements, without forming part of the obligations themselves.
Where It Can Be Referenced
The programme may be referenced in the supporting narrative of:
- Landscape Strategies
- Ecological or Landscape Management Plans
- Design & Access Statements
- Stewardship or long-term management discussions
It should not be referenced within the S106 agreement itself or presented as fulfilling any enforceable obligation.
Doā€™s and Donā€™ts
Do:
- Reference the programme when describing measures that complement long-term management intentions
- Position it as supporting resident understanding and reducing misuse of landscaped areas
- Distinguish it clearly from legally secured measures
Donā€™t:
- State or imply that it fulfils any S106 requirement
- Present it as an ecological or landscape mitigation measure
- Use it as evidence of compliance with legally binding obligations
- Suggest it replaces secured long-term management arrangements
