McLoughlin Planning has had recent success in promoting land for 400 homes in the green belt at Elland in Calderdale Borough. For the past three years, the Local Plan has been at Examination, where we have made the case for the allocation of the site for housing and its release from the green belt. Last week, the Local Plan Inspector confirmed that the site should be allocated for development in her recommendations to the Council.

The history of the Calderdale Local Plan is complex, being one of the last Local Plans to be examined under the 2012 NPPF. These Plans were reliant on Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) to calculate the Local Plan’s overall housing requirements.

At the Regulation 18 stage, we successfully secured the allocation of the site in the Plan as part of the Plan meeting its SHMA housing requirement. Unfortunately, Council Members decided to removed the site from the Regulation 19 version of the Plan as they sought a lower housing target, ignoring the findings of their own SHMA.

Presenting evidence to the Examination, we were able to demonstrate the case that the Regulation 19 version of the Plan did not meet the requirements of the 2021 Framework. The Inspector agreed with our arguments and directed the Council to revert back to the Regulation 18 version of the Plan in terms of providing a higher housing target and re-allocating the site for development.

This success is the result of many years of perseverance, first working with the landowner in 2015 and then subsequently with Avant Homes. As part of our wider work, we have been responsible for assembling and managing a team of consultants to produce a Site Promotion Document, undertake EIA Screening and engaging with the Council on pre-application advice. We are currently advising on detailed layout matters with a view to submitting a planning application later in 2022.

McLoughlin Planning are pleased to have helped secure Permission in Principle for up to 6 residential flats in the London Borough of Lewisham. This is the first Permission in Principle application determined, and approved, by this London Borough.

The landowner approached us to help find opportunities to holistically enhance and expand an existing mixed-use commercial and residential property to provide additional apartments. Through our initial planning research, we found evidence of neighbouring regeneration taking place and upward extensions permitted on other corner plot properties within the Borough offering comfort that such a proposal could be supported. However, because of site specific planning constraints (such as a nearby listed building) and the Council’s lengthy planning validation requirements for a project of this nature, the landowner wanted some reassurances from the Council that in principle the proposed development could be supported before investing in the work required for a full planning application.

Permission in Principle applications (PiPs) are a useful planning tool for landowners seeking to initially secure an “in principle” agreement with a Council on their proposed development. The application type considers only the location, land use and amount of development. PiP’s are limited to up to 9 residential units and therefore are suited for smaller rural development proposals or intensification or smaller brownfield developments in urban areas.

Following submission, as this was the first PiP in the London Borough of Lewisham, McLoughlin Planning worked closely with the Council to help ensure the Permission in Principle application was being determined correctly and to assist with providing additional information and reassurances (where required). Working with a proactive case officer, we are pleased to have successfully provided the landowner with the required comfort for a new sustainable development, and a new local case study on the benefits of Permission in Principle for property owners within the Capital.

If you would like a FREE initial consultation call, then please get in touch!

According to Historic England, there are approximately 500,000 listed buildings on the National Heritage List for England (NHLE), varying from Grade I, II, II* listed buildings marking their contribution to special architectural and heritage interests and to protect these assets for future generations. Those who own a listed building and intend to undertake repairs, restorations, alterations, or extensions to their property may likely require either planning permission or listed building consent (possibly both!).

The challenge with determining whether you need Listed Building Consent is that often even works which may be considered “simple” may require consent. It is often a fact and degree assessment, considering the level, scale or intensity of the work proposed. If you undertake works to a listed building, where consent is required, it is a criminal offence, and the Council could take Enforcement Action.

This uncertainty can often prove challenging when trying to retrofit and improve the energy efficiency of listed buildings (EPC rating) to provide a more sustainable home or business. For example, installing an EV charging point, replacing, or adding secondary glazing or installing an air source heat pump/solar panel often require Listed Building Consent and/or Planning Permission. As Listed Building Consent applications can take approximately 8 weeks to be determined from validation as well, ensuring you capture all works within your application is important to help avoid delays to your project.

Seeking expert advice can help in determining before work commences whether Planning or Listed Building Consent is required. Working in partnership with experienced heritage consultants and architects, we have helped guide and support owners in securing their retrofit aspirations. Some examples to illustrate our recent experience working with listed buildings include:

• Consent for an EV Charging Point to a Grade II Listed Manor in the Cotswolds with Cotswold District Council.

• Replacement Windows and other Internal/External Alterations and Upgrades on a Grade II listed Hotel adjoining Hyde Park with Westminster City Council.

• Retrospective Listed Building Consent for the installation of Windows, Doors, and Internal Appliances in a Grade II listed home with Cheltenham Borough Council.

• Alterations to Shopfront on a Grade II* listed shop on Cheltenham’s Promenade with Cheltenham Borough Council.

• Replacing Roof Tiles on a High Street Store in Wooten under Edge with Stroud District Council.

• Providing a Planning Appraisal and Advice for the holistic enhancement of a Grade I Listed Manor in the Southwest of England.

If you are considering works to your listed property and are not sure whether you may require planning or listed building consent, then please get in touch with one of our experienced planning consultants for an initial FREE consultation.

T: 01242895008

E: info@mplanning.co.uk

Alternatively, you can book a meeting via the “book an appointment” contact form on our website.

McLoughlin Planning has secured planning permission for a new rural exceptional farmstead home in Sussex.

Our clients own a parcel of land in Sussex, isolated in the idyllic Sussex countryside. Whilst planning permission would not normally be achievable for a new home in such a location, paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework sets out limited circumstances where new homes are permitted in isolated locations.

Point (e) allows for new homes where the design is of exceptional quality, reflecting the highest standards in architecture, raising the standards of design more generally in rural areas and significantly enhancing the immediate setting. To offer a brief history of the intention of Paragraph 84(e), it is widely accepted that Paragraph 84 is a modern continuation of what was originally referred to as “Gummer’s Law”, a means of protecting the long-standing tradition of building large British Country Houses. Therefore, Paragraph 84 sets out a series of scrupulous tests to demonstrate the proposal embodies this tradition.

Because of this high threshold, we worked closely with an experienced Architect and project team to develop an initial concept scheme. The vision for this proposal was to create an authentic country home, which is intimately connected to its place, improving the immediate habitat. Using the client’s and Architects’ extensive knowledge of renewable energy technology, the home aspired to be Net-Zero Carbon and install various technologies. The result was a home which visually resembled a typical Sussex Farmstead at a distance, but when approached, the building’s form, detail and sculptural quality give a clear indication of its contemporary design, successfully blending traditional building methods and materials with modernity.

With the support of ecologists and landscape consultants, a landscaping scheme was also prepared which would see the strengthening of a small woodland with further tree planting, wildflower meadows and work to an adjoining watercourse to support significant biodiversity net gain and enhancements to the surrounding character of the area.

McLoughlin Planning assisted in managing the planning strategy and the application through initial pre-application engagement with the Mid-Sussex District Council and through Design Review Panel presentations before developing and undertaking the submission of the planning application.

During the planning application process, McLoughlin Planning engaged with the Case Officer to assist in responding to statutory consultees, reviewing, and agreeing to relevant planning conditions and assisting in the preparation of an S106 agreement. Working proactively and maintaining regular contact with the case officer, we were able to secure planning permission under delegated powers.

We are overjoyed that this new multi-generational and exceptionally designed home has secured planning permission and look forward to seeing the development progress over the coming years to provide a new landmark in Mid-Sussex.

If you would like more information on the above, our Director, Chris Moore, is more than happy to help answer any questions you have in regard to new home builds in a rural setting:

Chris Moore

chris.moore@mplanning.co.uk

01242895008

McLoughlin Planning has successfully secured Technical Details Consent (TDC) to construct 2 x 4-bed dwellings in the village of Driffield, a non-principal settlement near Cirencester. This is following the successful grant of Permission in Principle (PiP) at Cotswold District Council’s Planning Committee.

What is Permission in Principle (PiP)?

Permission in Principle is a planning consent route which was introduced in 2018.  It is an alternative way of obtaining planning permission for housing-led development and it separates the consideration of matters of principle for proposed development (location, uses and amount of development), from the technical detail of the of the development (everything else, including planning conditions, s.106 and BNG).

The PiP stage acts like a watered-down outline planning application, and it can prove a useful tool if you want to get a clearer idea of whether development on site may be acceptable in principle, without the need for submitting costly reports from the outset.

The Technical Details Consent is more akin to a full planning application and as such, requires the submission of detailed reports, including full details of layout, scale, landscaping, appearance, and access.

Technical Details Consent (TDC) and Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)

The most notable aspect of this TDC approval is that off-site Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) credits needed to be sourced from a third-party organisation. This is because the site was not large enough to achieve the statutory 10% BNG uplift within the site boundary. Once a quote for off-site BNG credits was obtained, this was enough for the Council to grant planning permission, subject to an informative stating that development cannot commence until a BNG Plan has been submitted to and approved by the Council.

This will now be commonplace for small-scale housebuilders and developers as the sites they typically develop will not be large enough to construct dwelling(s) and have sufficient residual space to achieve a 10% BNG uplift on site. Therefore, sourcing off-site BNG credits is now becoming an essential part of obtaining planning permission.

How we can help

Are you looking to obtain planning permission for small-scale residential development? Do you need to source off-site BNG credits for your development? If so, then please 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

E:  joe.seymour@mplanning.co.uk

T: 01242 895 121

Project team

• K-Ten Consulting (Drainage)
• All Ecology (Ecology)
• Wotton Tree Consultancy (Arboriculture)
• Core Geotechnics Ltd (Geology)
• Andrew P Jones (Development Consultants)

Image Source: Andrew P Jones Associates

About us

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

Our reputation for integrity, innovation and intelligence means we are a growing business, thriving on personal recommendations from our loyal clients and trusted industry colleagues. 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.

Please view our full ‘About Us’ page to view which of our planning consultants would best fit your needs.

Nathan McLoughlin and  Joe Seymour worked with the team of consultants that has successfully secured full planning permission, at appeal,  for 45 new homes at Gotherington on behalf of Lioncourt Strategic Land Limited.

This Appeal Decision is noteworthy because it led to confirmation that Tewkesbury Borough Council (TBC) cannot demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply; the best estimate of its housing supply is judged to be 3.39 years. This leaves the Council in a difficult position, which originates from its failure (as part of the Joint Core Strategy (JCS)) to undertake the immediate review that it promised in return for the JCS’s adoption over 5 years ago. This is compounded by the fact that the JCS review process is a number of years away from being resolved. So, there is no easy fix without more speculative applications and/or the long-delayed strategic housing sites coming forward.

However, 5-year supply is only one part of the case for a planning proposal, it is essential that there is a well-designed and reasoned scheme, which fits with the principles of development in the NPPF and the Development Plan. Working closely with the wider team Nathan and Joe explored the previous Appeal and the sensitive landscape issues which affected it. A detailed analysis of the state of the community facilities and services in the village was undertaken to demonstrate that contrary to the Council’s position, the development would not lead to social cohesion issues.

The Inspector at this appeal made remarks on TBCs development plan that were significantly damaging to this and any future counter-argument, the council might have,  against developments in Tewkesbury District;  the “most important” policies in the development plan were deemed to be out-of-date by the Inspector and paragraph 11 d(ii) of the Framework was held to apply. In addition, the Inspector judged that Policy SP2’s numerical limits on housing development in service village locations were for making allocations and not determining applications.

In paragraph 158 of the Decision, the inspector states:

“In my view, it is of central importance to keep in mind that housing is occupied by people. Dealing with numbers obscures that. The lack of a sufficient forward pipeline of deliverable housing sites will inevitably mean that the housing needs of many people will not be met.” 

This is why the team at McLoughlin Planning do what they do, we care about creating enough homes for everyone.

Nathan McLoughlin was the lead planning witness, Joe Seymour provided support and great skill in assembling and running the Appeal. The wider team included fellow witnesses Cameron Austin-Fell (RPS), and Mike Davies (Davies Landscape Architecture), overseen by Peter Goatley KC on behalf of Vicky Bilton and Andy Faizey at Lioncourt.

McLoughlin Planning were appointed by Cameron Homes to assist it in securing reserve matters consent, pursuant to an outline planning permission.

Blockley is a village in the north Cotswolds and the site is sensitive, being subject to a number of environmental designations as well as technical constraints that limit the site layout. Given the sensitivity of the site, it was essential that a bespoke approach was adopted and Cameron Homes were ideally placed to deliver this, supported by Tyack Architects, designing the development.

The proposals were the subject of considerable discussion with the Planning and Conservation Officer at Cotswold District Council and the carefully negotiated approach paid dividends in securing officer support for the development, which balanced up the competing needs in a high quality scheme, reflecting the best of modern architecture in a sensitive environment.

This project enabled us to help build a new community of 198 much-needed new homes. We were brought in to secure outline permission for the landowners and retained by the developer to see the project through reserved matters.

We helped design a landscape-led development with a strong sense of place, including a tree-lined avenue and hedges which highlight the beautiful Cotswolds backdrop. A new park was created too, which all contributed to maintaining the legacy for a conscientious landowner.

We overcame many difficulties, not least ensuring that the requirements of an EIA-based application were met. We balanced the needs and desires of the council, landowners and developers, showing that we can solve challenges by bringing people together and building strong relationships. Our project management skills were also vital in seeing the proposals through to submission and discharging conditions.

This project demonstrates a number of services successfully provided by McLoughlin Planning.

We were originally asked by the landowners to advise on the development potential of the site for housing development. Whilst allocated in a draft Plan for 75 homes, we could see a compelling planning case for increasing the size of the development to 150 homes, by doubling the site area and providing a form of development which was better integrated into the settlement, than had originally been proposed.

The site was subsequently acquired by Welbeck Strategic Land and we assembled a technical team to pursue a planning application on their behalf, citing housing land supply issues and the emerging allocation as the basis for the proposal. In addition, we also worked closely with the Parish Council to explain our proposals and provide reassurance that Welbeck’s proposals would be realised by the ultimate developer of the site.

The application process was complex, involving an Appeal and a subsequent application addressing technical concerns in the Appeal Decision. The second application was approved at Planning Committee, where we were required to answer a number of technical questions posed by members.

The site was subsequently sold to Bovis Homes, who have since developed the site

Working through viability issues and negotiation on section 106 contributions to secure outline permission for 125 new homes.

We are delighted to have secured outline planning permission for 125 extra homes on the edge of Faringdon, Vale of White Horse District by appeal last week on behalf of our long-standing clients, Welbeck Strategic Land.

The Appeal decision has generated comment in the Planning press, primarily due to the viability issue. However, there are other areas of note for our clients to consider for their own development interests.

The Appeal site formed part of an allocation in the Local Plan for “around 200’” dwellings. 200 dwellings had already been provided on the northern half of the allocation. From the very outset, we secured the support of the Case Officer that the use of the term “around” did not preclude additional dwellings coming forward.

This principle was very important in the determination of the application. It highlights that there may be opportunities within allocations to increase levels of development, depending on the terminology used on the number of dwellings.

Prior to the Appeal process, the application was subject to 18 months of detailed, careful negotiation with the Case Officer and her advisers on viability matters. With an agreement secured on viability, the Application was presented to Planning Committee with a recommendation that planning permission should be granted.

Despite the Case Officer’s best efforts the Planning Committee disagreed with her recommendation and refused the application for, in their mind, failure to deliver a sufficient section 106 package of contributions.

The appeal decision is interesting in that the Inspector decided that not all of the Councils’ leisure contributions should be upheld, despite them being agreed at the time of the Planning Committee.

This shows the value of negotiation and evidencing the value of contributions and we are pleased that the Inspector could see the reasonableness of the situation.

We are very happy to secure the Appeal and be part of a great team led by Dankolinsky QC, working alongside Will Seamer of Montagu Evans, John Baird of Osborne Clarke and Anthony Hooper of Wakemans.