If a new housing development or commercial site is proposed and there are insufficient community facilities in the local area to serve it, Essex County Council may request that the developer mitigates the impact of their proposal on local services by providing land and/or funding to build new facilities.

Essex County Council’s approach to securing developer contributions is set out in our Developers’ Guide to Infrastructure Contributions. The Education Supplement expands upon the information provided in the corporate guide and sets out in detail our expectations when new school places or early years and childcare facilities are required.

If you are considering a development and would like us to evaluate its potential liability for education contributions, on a without prejudice basis, please complete the enquiry form and email it to: admin.strategy@essex.gov.uk.  

If a financial education contribution is required you can download either a unilateral undertaking or a bilateral s106 agreement template to complete and thereby minimise your legal costs.  

If the proposed development requires land for new facilities, detailed discussion will be required. A useful starting point, however, is our site suitability checklist, which must be submitted with any subsequent planning application.