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To check whether a new development funded local road improvements in England, start with the local planning authority’s online planning register, then match the permission and its legal obligations against the council’s latest Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS). Finally, ask the relevant highway authority for payment, transfer, allocation and works-completion records. A signed obligation proves that money or works were secured; it does not, by itself, prove that a payment was due, received or delivered on the ground.
The steps below show which documents to find, how Section 106, Section 278, Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and planning conditions differ, and how to resolve gaps when planning and highway records are held by different authorities. The process is grounded in England’s system; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different planning and highway arrangements.
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What is the quickest way to check?
Use this evidence trail:
- Find the planning application: search the local planning register by development address, applicant or planning reference.
- Download the complete decision file: obtain the decision notice, conditions, Section 106 agreement and every later deed that varies, modifies or discharges it.
- Check the IFS: search the council’s latest Infrastructure Funding Statement under “developer contributions”, “planning obligations” or “infrastructure funding”.
- Trace the highway record: where the IFS is incomplete, contact the planning authority and, if separate, the county or other highway authority.
- Ask for delivery evidence: request the trigger date, amount received, recipient, allocation or expenditure and the highway authority’s completion or acceptance record.
Government planning-obligations guidance requires planning obligations and records of their modification or discharge to be made available on the planning register. It also describes how authorities report developer contributions through infrastructure funding statements.
Which country’s records should you use?
This procedure is for England. Identify the nation before applying it elsewhere: the available data does not establish an equivalent process for Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. In England, the local planning authority (LPA) controls the planning register, while the highway authority may be a county council, a unitary authority or another body responsible for the public highway.
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A development can therefore have one public record for permission and obligations and another for highway design, inspection and adoption. Do not stop at the district or borough planning portal if the road authority is separate.
How do I find the planning application?
Search the LPA’s online planning register using the site address first. If the address produces too many results, add the applicant or developer name, the application reference, a postcode or the approximate decision date. Large schemes may have outline, reserved-matters, discharge-of-condition and non-material-amendment applications, so inspect the whole application family rather than only the first result.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchRecord the planning reference exactly as displayed. It is the most useful identifier when asking a council to locate an agreement or compliance file. Also note the legal description of the site, because a marketing name or estate name can differ from the address used in the agreement.
Documents to download
- Decision notice: confirms what permission was granted and lists the conditions.
- Section 106 agreement: the signed planning obligation, including schedules, plans, payment clauses and highway provisions.
- Variations or supplemental deeds: later documents can alter sums, triggers, phasing or the land covered.
- Discharge or modification records: show when an obligation or condition was formally dealt with.
- Condition-discharge decisions: important where highway works, drawings or construction details are controlled by a condition rather than a payment.
- Approved plans: may show junctions, access roads, footways, cycleways, signals or traffic-calming work that is not described as a contribution.
Save the documents with their dates. A later deed can change the answer that an earlier agreement appears to give.
What does a Section 106 agreement prove?
A Section 106 agreement is a legally binding planning obligation attached to land. The government describes such obligations as running with the land and being enforceable; they can require money, physical works or other actions. The agreement is evidence that the obligation was secured, not that its payment or works trigger has already occurred.
Read the exact clause and any schedule dealing with highways. Look for:
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- the event that triggers payment or works, such as commencement, a construction milestone or occupation;
- a deadline, phasing rule or occupation cap;
- the calculation method, including indexation;
- the receiving authority or infrastructure provider;
- rules for spending, transferring, repaying or monitoring the money; and
- the evidence required before occupation or later phases can proceed.
Do not calculate an amount from the headline application description. Indexation and later deeds can change the sum, while a trigger may not yet have happened. The Planning obligations guidance explains that obligations must be necessary to make the development acceptable, directly related to it and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind.
How is a Section 278 highway agreement different?
A Section 278 agreement is made under the Highways Act for works or contributions affecting the public highway. It is commonly used for junction redesign, signals, changes to road layout, footways, cycleways and safety measures. A planning register may mention it, but the detailed agreement, inspection and completion records are usually held by the highway authority.
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Search the planning file for phrases such as “Section 278”, “highway agreement”, “highway works”, “off-site works”, “access”, “junction” or “commuted sum”. Then ask the highway authority for the agreement and its status. Request the approved design, the trigger or programme, payment record, inspection history and confirmation of completion or adoption where applicable.
A Section 278 contribution is not interchangeable with a Section 106 payment. Compare the legal mechanism, named road, trigger, amount, recipient and delivery evidence before treating two entries as the same project.
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Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a separate charge on certain development. It can fund infrastructure across an area, including transport, but it may not identify one development’s payment with one road in the way a site-specific Section 106 clause does. The council’s CIL guidance and its IFS can show receipts, expenditure, retained funds and planned infrastructure projects.
Check the IFS for CIL totals and transport project allocations, but avoid claiming that a particular road was funded by a particular development unless the records make that connection. CIL can be pooled and spent according to the authority’s infrastructure priorities, subject to the applicable rules.
Can a planning condition require the road work without a payment?
Yes. A permission can require specified highway works, drawings, approvals or construction details through a planning condition. Those requirements may not appear as a cash contribution in the Section 106 agreement.
Read the decision notice and every condition-discharge decision. A condition might require an access to be built before occupation, a junction design to be approved, visibility splays to be provided or traffic-management measures to be installed. The condition-discharge record can show whether the council accepted the submitted details; it is not necessarily a certificate that the work was built and signed off by the highway authority. Seek the latter when delivery matters.
How do I use the Infrastructure Funding Statement?
An IFS is the council’s annual public report on developer contributions. Find it on the authority’s website under “developer contributions”, “planning obligations” or “infrastructure funding”. Use the latest statement available, then check earlier statements if the development is phased or the payment appears in an older year.
Search the PDF or web page for the development address, application reference, developer name, “highways”, the road name and the relevant ward. Extract the following fields:
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| Field | What it can tell you |
|---|---|
| Site or application | Whether the entry is tied to the development you are investigating. |
| Obligation or project | The stated purpose, such as a junction, bus improvement or walking and cycling scheme. |
| Trigger or deadline | When payment or works were due, if reported. |
| Amount received | Money actually recorded by the reporting authority, which may include indexation. |
| Amount allocated | A commitment to an infrastructure item or project, not proof of construction. |
| Amount spent or transferred | Funds used by, or passed to, another authority or infrastructure provider. |
| Delivered infrastructure | Works the authority reports as completed, where it has that information. |
The official guidance distinguishes an allocation—a decision to commit funds—from delivered infrastructure. Therefore an IFS line saying money was allocated to a junction is not enough to prove that the junction was built. Ask for a works-completion, inspection or compliance record.
What evidence shows that the developer actually paid?
Look for a receipt or compliance entry from the authority, not merely the signed agreement. Stronger evidence normally identifies the date money was received, the amount (including any indexation), the clause or project, and the receiving authority. If the money was transferred, the record should identify the recipient and transfer date.
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Use these status labels when reading records:
| Status | Meaning | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Secured | A legal obligation exists in the agreement. | That the trigger occurred or money was paid. |
| Due | The specified trigger or deadline has occurred. | That the authority received the money. |
| Received | The authority records payment. | That it was spent or that works were built. |
| Transferred | Funds were passed to another authority or provider. | That the recipient completed the project. |
| Allocated | Funds were committed to a project. | That construction or delivery is complete. |
| Spent | The authority reports expenditure. | That every contractual work or acceptance step is complete. |
| Completed or accepted | The highway authority confirms delivery, inspection or acceptance. | That the work solved every wider traffic problem. |
What should I ask the council when the public records are incomplete?
Contact both the LPA and the highway authority if they are different bodies. Include the site address and planning reference; Hampshire County Council specifically asks for those details when locating developer-contribution agreements and responding to compliance enquiries.
Ask focused questions tied to the actual clause:
I am checking the highway obligations associated with [development/site address], planning application [reference]. Please provide or identify the relevant Section 106 or Section 278 agreement and any variations. For the road or highway obligation in clause [number or description], please confirm whether its payment or works trigger has occurred; the date and amount received, including indexation where applicable; whether the contribution was transferred or allocated; the project on which it was spent; and whether the required works have been completed, inspected or signed off. If your authority does not hold these records, please identify the responsible authority or recipient.
Adapt the wording to the agreement. Do not ask for a payment date if the clause requires works in kind, and do not assume that every authority holds inspection or adoption records. If the planning authority says the highway authority holds the file, send the same reference and site details to that body.
Useful starting points include Hampshire County Council’s developer-contributions information and local protocols such as Lincolnshire’s Planning Obligations Protocol, which illustrate how authorities organise these records. They do not replace the agreement for your particular site.
How can I verify that the road improvements were delivered?
Payment and delivery are separate questions. Ask the highway authority for the completion, inspection or compliance record for the named works. For a physical scheme, request confirmation of the location, approved scope, completion date and whether the authority accepted or adopted it.
Compare the record with the obligation’s wording. If the clause requires a signalised junction, a contribution toward a corridor scheme is not automatically equivalent. If it requires works before occupation of a phase, check the phase and occupation trigger rather than relying on the overall build-out date.
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Photographs or a site visit can show what exists today, but they do not establish who paid for it or whether it satisfies the legal obligation. Use them only as context alongside the authority’s records.
Why does a nearby road project not necessarily belong to the new development?
Planning obligations are limited by statutory tests. A development may be required to mitigate its own transport impact, but a pre-existing network deficiency alone is not enough to justify charging that development. A road project near a site could therefore have been funded by another obligation, CIL, public funds or a mixture of sources.
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Test the connection rather than assuming it. The agreement should identify the project or a defined transport purpose; the IFS should identify the allocation or expenditure; and the highway authority should be able to confirm delivery. If one link is missing, describe the evidence as incomplete rather than attributing the whole project to the development.
How should I compare two developments or two proposed road schemes?
Use the same fields for each record so unlike obligations are not treated as equivalent.
| Comparison field | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Legal mechanism | Is it Section 106, Section 278, CIL or a planning condition? |
| Purpose and location | Which junction, road, footway, cycleway or wider project is named? |
| Trigger or deadline | What event makes payment or works due? |
| Amount and indexation | What sum or formula applies on the actual payment date? |
| Recipient | Which authority or infrastructure provider receives the money or works? |
| Status | Is it secured, due, received, transferred, allocated or spent? |
| Delivery evidence | Is there an inspection, completion, compliance or acceptance record? |
This framework is useful when a planning committee paper says a scheme will be “funded by development” but does not identify the mechanism or delivery stage. Treat the statement as a lead, then verify it against the primary documents.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What common mistakes should I avoid?
- Stopping at the decision notice: the legal obligation may be in a separate deed, and later deeds can change it.
- Confusing secured with paid: an executed Section 106 agreement is not a receipt.
- Confusing allocated with built: an IFS allocation is a funding commitment, not completion evidence.
- Ignoring conditions: highway mitigation may be controlled by a condition rather than a contribution.
- Searching only the district council: a county or unitary highway authority may hold Section 278, inspection and adoption records.
- Using an unindexed headline figure: check the clause’s formula and payment date.
- Attributing every nearby improvement to one site: confirm the stated project, recipient and funding trail.
- Assuming “spent” means every obligation is complete: expenditure can be recorded before final inspection or acceptance.
- Relying on the developer’s marketing name: use the legal site address and planning reference.
What if the development is phased or the agreement was changed?
Read the phasing schedule and every variation. A contribution may be triggered by the first occupation, a unit threshold, a reserved-matters phase or another milestone rather than by the grant of outline permission. A later deed can defer, reduce, replace or re-index an obligation.
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Check the IFS across several reporting years. A receipt may appear after the permission year, while an allocation or expenditure entry may occur later still. Keep a dated chronology showing permission, deed, trigger, receipt, transfer, allocation and delivery evidence.
What should a defensible conclusion look like?
State exactly what the records establish and what remains unconfirmed. For example:
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- “The Section 106 agreement secured a highway contribution and the IFS records receipt by the council.”
- “The IFS records an allocation to a junction project, but no completion or acceptance record was located.”
- “The planning condition required access works; the condition was discharged, but the highway authority has not yet confirmed final acceptance.”
- “The road scheme is nearby, but the available records do not identify it as funded by this development.”
This wording keeps the legal obligation, payment trail and physical delivery distinct. It also makes clear when the evidence comes from a planning authority rather than the highway authority.
Where can I read the official guidance?
Use the UK Government guidance on planning obligations for Section 106 tests, obligations and infrastructure-funding reporting. Use the separate Community Infrastructure Levy guidance for CIL receipts, expenditure and infrastructure reporting. Local explanations, including North Norfolk’s Section 106 page and Leeds City Council’s planning-obligations information, can help you recognise local terminology, but the signed agreement and the responsible authority’s records remain decisive for an individual development.
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The reliable answer comes from joining three records: the planning register establishes what was required, the IFS helps trace money and allocations, and the highway authority confirms whether the specified road works were delivered. Keep Section 106, Section 278, CIL and planning conditions separate, check triggers and indexation, and report any missing link in the evidence instead of assuming that a nearby improvement was paid for by the development.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I tell from the planning portal whether the developer has paid?
Usually not from the permission page alone. The portal may show the obligation and later deeds, while payment dates and receipts are often reported in the IFS or held in a separate compliance record. Ask the authority to confirm the transaction against the relevant clause.
Who keeps records for a Section 278 road scheme?
The highway authority normally holds the detailed Section 278 agreement, design approvals, inspections and completion information. The planning authority may only cross-reference the scheme, so send the site address and planning reference to both bodies when responsibilities are unclear.
Does an index-linked contribution change after permission is granted?
It can. Many agreements specify an index or calculation date, so the amount due may differ from the figure shown when permission was granted. Use the clause and any variation to establish the amount at the trigger or payment date.
What if the road was improved before the new homes were occupied?
Check the obligation’s trigger rather than assuming the timing is wrong. Some agreements require works before occupation or before a later phase, while others trigger payment at commencement or another milestone; the authority’s compliance record should show which event applied.
