Legal agreements

Overview and Templates:

Unilateral Undertakings can be entered into before a planning application has been determined and may secure planning obligations that take effect if planning permission is granted. They may also be used to discharge a condition attached to an existing planning permission.

The most common types of Unilateral Undertakings we receive, and therefore the templates we make available, are:

• Habitat Mitigation
• Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
• Habitat Mitigation and Biodiversity Net Gain (combined)

If you have been instructed by a Planning Officer to complete a Unilateral Undertaking, please email the Legal Team at legal@newforestnpa.gov.uk to request the relevant template. An editable Word version will then be provided. When completing the document, please ensure that Track Changes is enabled.

Assumptions:

The assumptions listed below have been made in our standard templates.  If any of these do not apply to your circumstances, then you will not be able to use one of our templates:

• the property is registered at HM Land Registry with freehold title
• there are no leasehold interests in the property;
• if a company is a party to the undertaking it is incorporated in England and Wales;
• where relevant, the owner has entered into a conditional contract, option agreement or similar development agreement;
• the owner or developer has submitted a planning application to the Authority; and
• planning permission is likely to be granted by the Authority.

Site Plan Requirements:

A red-line site plan must be attached to all Unilateral Undertakings. Please note that, for copyright reasons, this cannot be a copy or screenshot of a plan obtained from HM Land Registry. If you are unable to provide a suitable plan, the Authority can produce one on your behalf. This service is included within the standard legal fee.

Review and Execution Process:

Once we receive a draft (unsigned) Unilateral Undertaking, we will review it and advise whether any amendments are required. When we confirm that the draft is acceptable, it can be executed.

Please do not send a signed Unilateral Undertaking until we have confirmed that the draft is correct.

Following execution, a physical copy of the deed must be posted to our offices for the attention of the Compliance and Legal Support Officer.

Legal Fees:

The figures below represent our standard charges for reviewing and completing a Unilateral Undertaking. If we anticipate that the fee will exceed the amount initially quoted, we will notify you before the deed is executed.

• £100 standard fee where one of the Authority’s standard templates is used. This covers the review and completion of the deed. If additional reviews or other work are required, this fee may be increased to reflect the time spent.
• £400 minimum fee (charged at £200 per hour) where input from the Authority’s solicitor is required.
• Please note that as Either/Or Unilateral Undertakings must be drafted by the Authority’s solicitor and are therefore charged at the solicitor’s hourly rate rather than the standard fee.
• The same charging basis applies where a standard template cannot be used and/or it is necessary for the Authority to draft a bespoke Unilateral Undertaking.