Dr Malachy Buck MRTPI, Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning at London South Bank University, will investigate how planning obligations are being utilised, valued and reported to deliver social value in England.

Social value is becoming an increasingly influential feature of the development process in England. Despite the common objectives of planning and social value, their standards, practices and frameworks do not always align. A long-standing mechanism whereby social value is secured through the planning system is through developer contribution i.e. Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy. In 2018/19 this mechanism delivered approximately £7 billion in community benefits such as affordable housing, health and education infrastructure.

Yet local authorities and developers use, calculate and report the benefits delivered through this mechanism in different ways, which means the sector lacks a consistent methodology to report these benefits accurately. The lack of guidance creates a "grey area" where mitigation to address the impact of development may be counted as additionality in social value terms. This risks inconsistent delivery and reporting of community benefit, potential unfairness for ethical developers, and undermines support for new development and trust in the planning system.

To address this issue, the study will undertake a series of interviews with experts across the public, private, and third sectors alongside a comparative case study of large-scale developments in London and the North West. It will use this evidence to develop recommendations for planning policy and practice, and a simple, freely available tool and guidelines for practitioners to support the accurate and fair valuation of development contributions, to support delivery of genuine social value through development.