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Community Benefit Agreements UK: A Practical Guide

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Written by Brad Askew Solicitor (non-practising)
Brad is on the roll of solicitors of England & Wales but does not hold a practising certificate and does not provide legal advice.
Updated June 2026 · England & Wales
Community Benefit Agreements, often shortened to CBAs, have quietly become one of the most significant tools shaping how renewable energy projects land in local communities across the UK. When a wind farm, solar park, or hydro scheme arrives in an area, a CBA sets out what the host community can expect in return: funding pots, local employment commitments, reduced energy costs, or investment in shared infrastructure. They are not usually required by law, yet they have become close to standard practice, particularly for onshore wind and large solar developments. For anyone sitting on either side of the table, a parish council, a community group, a landowner, or a developer, getting the detail right matters. This page walks through how CBAs work in practice, the terms that tend to cause friction, and the points worth stress-testing before anyone signs.

What this document is

A Community Benefit Agreement is a written arrangement between a renewable energy developer and the community hosting a project. It records what the community will receive, usually over the operational lifetime of the scheme, in exchange for accepting the impact of the development on its doorstep.

Most CBAs in the UK are voluntary commitments rather than statutory requirements, which means the parties have a lot of freedom to shape what goes in. That flexibility is useful, but it also means there is no single template and no automatic protection if things go wrong later.

Typical contents include an annual payment into a community fund, governance rules for how that fund is spent, commitments around local hiring and supply chains, environmental enhancements, and provisions for reviewing payments in line with inflation. Some CBAs also include skills training, biodiversity projects, or discounted tariffs for nearby households. The agreement sits alongside, but is legally distinct from, any planning obligations the developer has under the planning system.

How to use this document

  1. Scope the community and the project footprint. Before drafting anything, both sides need to agree on who the 'community' actually is. This is often framed by distance from the site, parish boundaries, or ward lines. The definition decides who benefits from the fund and who has a say in how it is run, so vagueness here causes problems later.
  2. Agree the benefit package and payment structure. Work out the headline figure, how it is calculated (commonly a rate per megawatt of installed capacity per year), when payments start, and how they are indexed over time. Consider whether benefits are purely financial or include in-kind contributions such as local employment, apprenticeships, or infrastructure upgrades.
  3. Design the governance model. Decide who receives the money and how it is distributed. Options range from a new charitable trust or community benefit society to an existing parish council or established local foundation. The governance structure should be transparent, accountable, and practical for the size of the fund involved.
  4. Draft the legal document carefully. The agreement should record payment obligations, duration, review mechanisms, dispute resolution, what happens on a change of ownership of the project, and what happens if the project is repowered or decommissioned. An experienced legal adviser on each side helps keep the drafting balanced.
  5. Sign, publish, and monitor. Once signed, the CBA should be made public so the community can see what was agreed. Ongoing monitoring matters: annual reporting, clear contact points with the developer, and a route to raise concerns if payments slip or obligations are missed.

Common questions

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Common questions

Q Are Community Benefit Agreements legally binding in the UK?
Yes, once signed by both parties, a CBA is a binding contract and enforceable in the ordinary way. What is voluntary is the decision to enter into one in the first place. UK planning law does not generally compel a developer to sign a CBA, but industry guidance and trade body protocols strongly encourage them for onshore wind and, increasingly, solar and battery storage projects.
Q How is a CBA different from a Section 106 planning obligation?
A Section 106 agreement under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is a planning tool used to mitigate specific impacts of a development and is tied to the planning permission. A CBA sits outside planning and delivers wider community benefits that are not needed to make the development acceptable in planning terms. The two should be kept separate to avoid legal challenge.
Q How much money is typically offered under a CBA?
For onshore wind, industry protocols have long pointed to an annual figure per megawatt of installed capacity, index-linked for the life of the project. Solar and battery projects tend to follow similar logic but at different rates. Actual figures vary widely depending on project size, location, and what the community negotiates, so it is worth benchmarking against comparable local schemes.
Q Who should sign the CBA on behalf of the community?
This depends on how the community is organised. A parish or community council, a registered charity, a community benefit society, or a purpose-built trust can all take on the role. The key is that the signing body has the legal capacity to enter into contracts, can hold and distribute funds properly, and has governance that fairly represents the intended beneficiaries.
Q What happens to the CBA if the project is sold to a new owner?
A well-drafted CBA will include a novation or assignment clause requiring the buyer to step into the developer's shoes and take on the same obligations. Without this, the community could be left trying to enforce an agreement against a party that no longer controls the site. This is one of the most important clauses to get right at the drafting stage.
Q Can the community negotiate changes to a developer's standard CBA?
Yes. Developers often present a draft based on their standard approach, but the terms are open to negotiation. Common areas to push back on include the definition of the community, indexation, governance arrangements, reporting duties, and what happens at repowering or decommissioning. Taking time to negotiate rather than accepting a first draft usually produces a better long-term outcome.
Q Do CBAs cover offshore wind projects too?
Offshore wind uses a different model, because there is no single host community in the same sense. Developers often direct benefits to coastal communities near cable landing points or operations and maintenance bases, and funds are typically larger and regional in scope. The legal structure can look similar to onshore CBAs but the scale and beneficiaries differ.
If you're dealing with this kind of situation, speak to an experienced legal adviser who can walk you through it — from £89.

Sources

This guide is based on primary UK law and official guidance.

Brad Askew, Solicitor (non-practising)

Written & reviewed by

Brad Askew Solicitor (non-practising)

Brad is on the roll of solicitors of England & Wales but does not hold a practising certificate and does not provide legal advice. LegalDocuments.co.uk is not a law firm and does not provide regulated legal advice.

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Legal disclaimer
This article is for general information only. It is a tool to help you find your way — not legal advice, and not a substitute for speaking to a qualified adviser about your situation.