Published date: 13 January 2020
Capturing funds to develop the NHS estate
Aahsan Rahman, Department Head of Town Planning at NHS Property Services, speaks to a think tank on how to best capture funding through the town planning system to develop and improve the NHS estate.
The NHS estate is under evermore pressure and it is imperative that the NHS uses all available funding sources to ensure it can continue to enable quality patient care.
Developer contributions obtained through the town planning system (including Section 106 planning obligations and Community Infrastructure Levy) are an example of these funding sources, and can provide an important contribution to meeting the cost of new or improved infrastructure as a result of new development in an area.
The NHS needs to do more to capture this funding, and requires a co-ordinated and strategic approach to maximise its benefit. However, despite several successful examples of NHS bodies capturing these funds there remains a lack of a consistent approach to facilitate this activity.
Leading the only dedicated town planning team in the NHS, Aahsan Rahman has contributed to a report from Reform, a think tank, on the role of Section 106 planning contributions in delivering much needed health infrastructure.
Section 106
"Section 106, also called ‘planning obligations’, can be an important means for NHS trusts and foundation trusts to improve and upgrade their estate when housing growth places additional pressures on services. In effect, these are contributions and concessions made by property developers in order to reduce their impact on the community and secure planning permission."
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