Mayor of London publishes Social Infrastructure Supplementary Planning Guide

Social infrastructure is a component within the National Planning Policy Framework, The London Plan and various local plans. It is intended that this document provides guidance on how to implement policies within the London Plan and it does not introduce any new policy. A proposed process on how to assess the strategic and local infrastructure needs has also been included; this process is flexible so it can be adapted to various situations.

Johnson said in his foreword that the purpose of the SPG was to help "anyone engaged in development or plan-making to understand the quantity and types of social infrastructure needed to support growth." It offers guidance and support on how to successfully deliver and implement social infrastructure in a community. 

The SPG contains specific guidance in relation to lifetime neighbourhoods, healthcare, education, sports facilities and burial needs. 

The document offers direction to community groups and neighbourhood forums to raise their awareness of any social infrastructure needs to aid the preparation of neighbourhood plans.  It also gives advice to planning consultants, developers, local authorities, and public health practitioners on how to gather the relevant information for their planning applications and ensure it meets any social infrastructure needs. Developments should be "accompanied by suitable levels of new, appropriate and enhanced social infrastructure if full social and economic benefits of growth are to be realised."

Specific provisions have also been included regarding burial needs in the capital. Social infrastructure meets the needs of people at all stages of their lives and this "extends to the provision of burial spaces". Local authorities are advised to consider the demand for burial spaces, promote the reuse of existing plots where possible and cooperate with neighbouring councils when more spaces are needed.

Planning expert Alexis Coleman of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said: "The SPG provides that the majority of social infrastructure will be funded by the relevant social infrastructure providers and commissioners.  Where there are funding gaps, it states it may be appropriate to secure contributions through planning obligations, planning agreements or the community infrastructure levy (CIL)." 

"However there could be difficulties securing such facilities by these means in practice given restrictions on the extent to which planning obligations can be used to provide for such facilities," she said. "Pooling restrictions restrict the number of obligations that can be collected with respect to the same type of infrastructure and contributions cannot be collected for infrastructure appearing on an authority’s CIL Reg 123 list as that infrastructure  is therefore intended to be funded by CIL. Further, even when social infrastructure may be on an authority’s Reg 123 list as being infrastructure that could be funded by CIL, there is no obligation on the authority to actually expend CIL on providing that infrastructure."