It was an absolute pleasure to be part of this proposal in Brockworth for a three-storey, 66-bed care home facility, along with associated ancillary works. Planning was approved in February of this year.  

The planning balance – increase in built form outside the settlement boundary VS identified need for housing

The site comprised a single dwelling in ample grounds, surrounded by playing fields and residential gardens with established border treatments.  

Key planning considerations included:  

• The site’s location outside the settlement boundary; 

• The introduction of a larger built form compared to the buildings currently on site; 

• Access; 

• Design and layout; 

• Landscaping and trees;  

• BNG; 

• Archaeology;  

• Energy Strategy. 

Although outside the settlement boundary for Brockworth, the development site benefitted from being adjacent to a strategic allocation, outlined in the Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031.  Furthermore, at the time of submission, the Council could not demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. The proposal would therefore help to address the identified need for registered care beds in the locality, and the quantum proposed would make a useful addition to the Council’s housing supply figures. 

Regarding the increase in built form compared to the existing, whilst this undoubtedly represented a key planning issue, it was successfully evidenced that the scheme could be delivered without unacceptable wider landscape and visual impacts, particularly given the significant additional residential development taking place adjacent to the site. As a result, we successfully justified that the minor visual harm created by the new built form would be comprehensively outweighed by the substantial benefits that would result from the development. 

The importance of communication and collaboration during the planning application process

Given this, a positive pre-application response was received, which acknowledged that the principle of development was acceptable, along with the proposed quantum of development which initially sought an 82-bed care home with associated amenity space, parking provision and a revised access point.   

On this basis, working effectively across a multi-disciplinary project team, a full planning application was submitted. However, statutory consultee responses received during the determination period raised several concerns.  We liaised effectively with the case officer and wider project team, presenting a series of solutions and mitigation measures to assuage concerns and present a scheme which responded positively to statutory responses and ensured a suitable quantum of care provision, adhering to the vision of our client.   

These included:  

• Reduction in the size of the proposed Care Home to 66 beds; 

• Revised and reduced building layout  set further back into the site; 

• Revised parking area to provide a higher proportion of spaces per unit; 

• Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) Assessment which demonstrated that a 24.88% BNG would be achieved, far in excess of policy requirements; 

• Landscape Strategy Plan showing how the BNG will be achieved; 

• Archaeological Evaluation Report and Trial Trenching results; 

• Updated Sustainability and Energy Statement confirming that up to 90% of all the care home’s energy requirements woudl come from renewable energy sources; 

• Waste Minimisation Statement to ensure the development is carried out in an as environmentally friendly way as possible. 

The application was decided at Planning Committee, and we are delighted that following our involvement, all concerns raised by the statutory consultees were successfully resolved and that planning was approved in a timely manner.    

How we can help

We are McLoughlin Planning, and our team has a simple objective: to get results for our clients by providing high quality planning consultancy. 

Our team of chartered town planning consultants deal with a host of interesting planning projects from across southern England and Wales – from strategic promotions and commercial premises to private developments and rural projects. 

We are a friendly and approachable team who care passionately about the built environment, always striving to get the best outcome for our clients and the community. 

If you have a development project which would benefit from expert planning consultancy input, then feel free to contact us through either our “Arrange a Call” tab on our contact page or via the email and telephone number provided below. 

Joe Seymour – Associate Director 

McLoughlin Planning is pleased to have helped a property owner secure Permission in Principle (PiP) with the London Borough of Sutton for an upward extension (airspace) development for 9 new flats. This is the first approved Permission in Principle granted by this London Borough.

Due to the significant number of reports and plans required through validation for full planning permissions, we have been approached by SME developers to find a means of managing development risk and to ensure the principle of their aspirations is something which can be agreed with the Council before investing in the technical work required. This is particularly applicable to constrained inner-city urban development sites where upward extensions for airspace development can be met with resistance.

Following previous success in London in using Permission in Principle, we worked with the landowner to develop a scheme which could be presented through a PiP to secure the principle of airspace development for the property. As this application type considers only the location, land use and amount of development, the level of supporting information is a fraction of a full planning permission. Whilst it does not remove the considerations and risks of subsequent technical considerations, it does provide an opportunity to agree with the Council whether the amount (i.e. number of residential flats) and location of the airspace development is acceptable. As PiP’s are limited to up to 9 residential units, this type of proposal is ideally suited for smaller development proposals in urban areas.

Following submission, McLoughlin Planning worked closely with the Council and case officer to ensure the proposal was being determined correctly and to agree with the officer on the appropriate amount of development which would be realistic to approve for further technical consent.

We are so pleased to have helped provide the landowner with reassurance through the PiP of their property’s development potential and to secure another first with a London Borough.

📞 If you would like a FREE initial consultation call to explore whether your property could benefit from PiP, then please get in touch!

Chris Moore,