What the Act actually does
The Act [English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026] formalises a tier of strategic authorities (mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities and the Greater London Authority) with a defined area of competence that includes strategic planning, housing, transport and regeneration. It does not amend section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and it does not alter the CIL Regs 2010 reg 122 necessity test that governs whether an obligation can be sought.
Where it touches planning obligations (indirectly)
The strategic-planning power is exercised mainly through the Spatial Development Strategy, a high-level plan for the strategic authority area (the London Plan is the existing model). An SDS can shape the infrastructure priorities and housing distribution that a constituent LPA then reflects in its own local plan and, in turn, in the obligations it negotiates. That influence is upstream: the deed itself is still negotiated and signed at LPA level, and the reg 122 tests (necessary, directly related, fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind) apply exactly as before.
What has not changed
Existing s.106 obligations are unaffected. There is no new strategic-authority signatory or veto over a s.106 deed, no retroactive effect on in-flight deeds, and no change to the s.106A modification and discharge route. Development managers sizing a scheme should continue to work to the adopted LPA policy in force at the date of resolution.
Commencement
The Act received Royal Assent on 29 Apr 2026; its provisions come into force in stages, with commencement and transitional detail set by subsequent statutory instrument (for example SI 2026/482 on transitional and saving provisions). None of this changes the section 106 mechanics above.