Mcloughlin Planning are pleased to have secured planning permission for a new private swimming pool in the grounds of a rural picturesque Cotswold property.

After securing permission for the conversion of agricultural barns to provide a new residential home, our client was looking at ways to enhance the landscaping around their property and provide a private pool for themselves. After initially applying alone to Cotswold District Council, the landowner ran into issues with the Council and had to withdraw the application.

Concerns were raised of the impact of the development on the surrounding countryside (which form part of the AONB), the impact on a nearby Grade I listed church and the character of the area.

Our Associate Director Chris Fleming, worked closely with the client and architects, Portus and Whitton https://portusandwhitton.co.uk…, to consider where best to site the development in light of the immediate site constraints and what the best planning strategy would be moving forward.

Helping the client through the initial pre-application meetings stage with the Council and the subsequent planning application, we were able to ensure the proposal accorded with local planning policies and would respect the historical significance of the nearby Grade I listed church.

Given our long term working relationship with Cotswold District Council, when any questions or queries came to up from the case officer, we were able to quickly respond and liaise with the necessary officers or third party consultants.

We are delighted to have secured planning permission for what will be a visual enhancement to the property and a new recreational space for its occupants.

McLoughlin Planning was instructed by the Bathurst Estate to secure planning and listed building consent for the conversion of a complex of Barns.

McLoughlin Planning was instructed by the Bathurst Estate to secure planning and listed building consent for the conversion of a complex of Barns at Tarlton Farm to residential use, as part of a wider Estate strategy to rationalise its property portfolio and deliver best value from the careful disposal of selected assets.

We worked closely with Yiangou Architects to obtain a detailed understanding of the constraints the barn complex presented and what the opportunities were for making the best positive re-use of the buildings. Owing to its listed status, some imaginative design solutions were proposed, involving glazed extensions to allow narrow parts of the building to become living spaces. In addition, we negotiated with Officers to make the case for the removal of unsympathetic modern agricultural buildings in return for more flexible thinking towards the extent of domestic curtilage.

Planning and Listed Building consent were secured under delegated authority in 2017.

McLoughlin Planning are delighted to have secured planning permission for change of use from agricultural building to a farm shop for Todenham Manor Farm Shop.

Points of note from this application are the farm shop is to be ancillary to the main business on the premises, there cannot be separate A1 premises and the requirement for secure cycle parking to ensure adequate cycle facilities are provided to meet the requirement for sustainable development, in accordance with Cotswold District Local Plan Policy INF3.

This application poses interesting options to other farmers in Cotswold District, who may be looking for a means of diversifying and having a ready outlet for sales of their own produce.

A tight timescale, a green belt site and important commercial drivers made this project as unusual as it was interesting.

A tight timescale, a green belt site and important commercial drivers made this project as unusual as it was interesting. Triumph needed to relocate and had been searching for a new factory site for two years before it was offered land at Staverton.

We took the project from its earliest moments to an approved application at the first attempt in only six months – all in the prism of a General Election campaign. An adjacent site had already been turned down, so work with the local planning authority, LEP and an MP was vital to securing permission on the grounds of very special circumstances.

The result was a 2,000 sq m high-tech manufacturing facility which brought 200 skilled jobs to the UK from China to support an international business to export its products around the world.

Our history of working with the rural community and farmers means we can play the important role of a trusted personal advisor.

We take pride in our knowledge of the rural market and an ability to immerse ourselves in the projects of our clients. Our history of working with the rural community and farmers means we can play the important role of a trusted personal advisor.

Nowhere was this more the case than at Upcote Farm, where our client wanted to retain the family property by diversifying from sheep farming into a wedding venue on a 250-acre site.

We navigated a challenging brief which included historic farm buildings that were inappropriate for conversion. We also developed a compelling case, arguing for conversion of a modern structure into the main venue, veering away from the accepted wisdom at that time and using innovative responses to the planning challenge.

The result was a stunning conversion of multiple agricultural buildings which benefit not just the family, but the wider local economy by creating jobs in the service sector.

Working on behalf of EG Carter and Gloucestershire County Council, McLoughlin Planning was part of a team that successfully delivered planning permission for the replacement school building at Warden Hill Primary School in Cheltenham.

Warden Hill Primary School is a two form entry primary school (420 pupils) located in Durham Close, Warden Hill, Cheltenham. The school is rated “Outstanding” by Ofsted and there had been consideration to expand the school to three form entry. The birth data, alongside existing primary provision in the area showed that the expansion was not required. However, the condition of the school buildings was reviewed and it became clear that they were of significant concern. Detailed investigation showed that an extensive maintenance programme would not be an efficient use of resources and it would be better to replace the school buildings.

In November 2020 Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet approved additional funding to replace the existing school buildings.

Warden Hill School’s site is large enough that the new school building can be built, whilst the old school building is still in daily use by staff and pupils. Once the new building is complete, the old school building will be demolished.

McLoughlin Planning was able to demonstrate the planning policy case as to why this development should go ahead, despite the controversial use of playing fields for development. It was demonstrated that using the playing fields for the new school building was necessary and that it allowed the space currently occupied by the old school building to be re-used after it’s demolition as an improved play space for pupils.

There are specific conditions that have to be met to allow such development because of the value we all place on open spaces for our children. This includes Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, that local authorities are required to apply for the consent of the Secretary of State for Education to dispose of, or change the use of, land used for maintained schools and academies and following the guidance from Sport England.

The school has been developed to deliver an exemplar 21^st
century learning space that has been designed to be the most environmentally friendly low carbon primary school in the country. To enable this, it will have high building fabric efficiency, a low carbon heat source using an air source heat pump, on-site electricity generation through PV array, sustainable urban drainage systems and a “Pocket” forest.

Externally, there will be nature areas, playing pitches, daily mile and pump track and external amphitheatre seating for the pupils to enjoy.

We are delighted that ground was broken in November 2021 and that we were able to assist in this exciting project that reflects our continuing involvement with the County Council in the provision of new schools and school buildings.

Permission secured for variation of a restrictive retail condition, using the new Class E (of the Use Classes Order).

Historically, retail (Use Class A) development was heavily regulated in terms of where it could be sited, relative to the City Centre and associated district centres.

Outside of such locations, planning conditions have been frequently imposed to control the sale of goods from such locations, so that they don’t compete with established City and District Centres.

Recent Use Class Order changes and the introduction of Class E has created significant opportunities for retail development to be provided in locations unrestrained by retail planning policy.

This all sounds great except it leaves commercial landlords holding retail property in a difficult position. Many are limited by legacy conditions from a different time in planning which reduces the attractiveness of their properties, especially when faced with the freedom offered by Class E.

We have been successful in helping one such landlord out.

McLoughlin Planning has secured planning permission for the variation of a retail condition on a 2000 sq.ft. retail unit on the edge of the City Centre.

The unit benefitted from planning permission for retail uses, although with a restrictive policy that determined what goods could be sold from the premises. It expressly prevented the sale of food from the unit. This condition still applies despite the recent changes to the Use Classes Order.

In securing a variation of the retail condition to allow for food sales, we reviewed the availability of existing retail and non-retail floorspace in the City to prove that there was no other available locations as well as establishing a reasoned case that Class E allowed for development anywhere in the City.

This allowed a vacant unit to be brought back into a positive retail use. It will re-open as a small foodstore, making best use of an existing edge of centre site, promoting economic activity and avoiding a vacant retail unit becoming a problem.