McLoughlin Planning was approached by Unity Land to support its efforts to promote the comprehensive redevelopment of Fairoaks Airport to provide a modern general aviation airport, with a focus on providing facilities for supporting sustainable aviation and the latest EV technology. This was as a direct competitor to other proposals which sought the redevelopment of the site for a new garden village in Surrey Heath.

Situated in the Green Belt, on the outskirts of Working and adjacent to Mclaren HQ, Fairoaks is an important general aviation airport in the south east. Its faciliites are delipidated and in need of urgent upgrading. Unity Land is commited to acquiring and heavily investing into the Airport to make it a modern facility, securing and promoting jobs in high skill positions in the aviation industry.

Working with John Steel QC (a leading aviation specialist) McLoughlin Planning is responsible for the preparation of the planning case for the development, working with the Unity Team (including 5Plus Architects, ARUP and specialist aviation consultants) to provide a conclusive case for the redevelopment of the site and demonstrate the clear economic benefits of development in an area where there is a high demand for commercial floorspace.

This has involved examining how the unique permitted development rights enjoyed by airports can be used to engineer a case for the wider redevelopment of the site and how planning policy at both local and national level, supports the retention of general aviation airports across the country.

The work is currently on-going.

Charlton House, is the global headquarters of Spirax-Sarco Engineering plc, a FTSE 100 company and is one of Cheltenham’s largest employers. It has occupied the site since the 1940s.

Charlton House is a complex site, involving a Grade II listed building and has been extended in the latter half of the 20 Century.

Spirax-Sarco were faced with a dilemma, the modern office extension was reaching the end of its operational life, it was poorly configured and ill-suited to modern working practices.

Given the need for change, the company appointed McLoughlin Planning and Roberts Limbrick Architects along with a multi-disciplinary consultant team to advise on options for redevelopment, to provide a modern, highly energy efficient work-space, fit for the 21 Century.

Working in partnership with Roberts Limbrick Architects we took the company through the various options available in terms of demolition and replacement structures. Refurbishment was out of the question. The fundamental challenge was to balance the need for a modern office space against the need to respect the character and setting of Charlton House. This demanded a creative and bold confident approach.

At an early stage of the project, the company sought to embody its environmental commitments into the project and working with the team, decided on a strategy which would deliver the County’s first ever BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) ‘Outstanding’ building, which is a very high bar in terms of measuring its environmental performance. Less than top 1% of new non-domestic buildings in the UK are within the Outstanding category so this is a significant achievement. ‘Outstanding’ building.

The new extension contains open-plan office space, break-out areas, an auditorium, a gym and changing facilities. Securing the renovation of the company’s global headquarters will help to consolidate their position in Cheltenham and will secure existing and attract new high-skilled jobs in the town for years to come.

McLoughlin Planning explained and guided Spirax-Sarco through the planning process, submitting the planning and listed building applications for the redevelopment. We were able to demonstrate that the bold, superior architectural design of the replacement extension clearly outweighed the minor harm that would be caused to the historic fabric of the listed building.

As part of the process, we equally advised the company on concerns raised from local residents which focused on the height of the new five-storey extension and the disturbance that would be caused during the demolition and construction phases of the development. Again, we were able to demonstrate to the Council that the development would not be detrimental to neighbouring residents and the applications were approved by the Council’s Planning Committee only four months after submission.

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 was an ultimate grand design to match even the most ambitious dream home project. Working with architect, Richard Parr, we were involved from start to finish of this project nestled in a 150-acre farm in the spectacular Oxfordshire countryside.

The existing Cotswolds farmhouse cottage needed significant upscaling to meet our client’s needs for more space alongside first rate equestrian facilities. The sensitivity of the site, which lies near Chipping Norton, meant we were required to work hard with the project team and planning authority to meet the needs of our family client by making the case for an innovative development.

The result is a bespoke solution to delivering a beautiful 20,000 sq ft home marrying modern construction and traditional craftsmanship.

McLoughlin Planning has been the Planning Consultant for Gloucestershire Airport for several years. As part of this, it has been involved in securing the necessary Consent for Skyborne’s operations allowing them to establish a Commercial Flight Training School at Gloucestershire Airport to meet the global demand for new Commercial Pilots.

The challenges faced by this project were:

• It was necessary to demonstrate that the use of a hangar as a Flight Training School fell within the definition of aviation-related development in the Town & Country Planning General Permitted Development (Order 2015).
• The Flight Training School was to be supported by an accommodation block for students.

The site is situated within the Green Belt where there are stringent planning controls on new development. As part of the company’s activities working on behalf of the Airport in terms of looking after its wider property portfolio, we were able to engineer a suitably positively planning policy context to allow Skyborne’s proposals to come forward as part of non-operational but aviation-related development.

McLoughlin Planning was part of a team, assisting in the securing of planning permission for a new medical centre for Stourport.

McLoughlin Planning was part of a team led by West Hart Partnership, assisting in the securing of planning permission for a new state-of-the-art medical centre for Stourport, on behalf of GB Partnerships.

The need for the new practice was driven by the merger of the town’s two doctor’s surgeries. Our services related to providing the planning policy justification for the new Medical Centre, balancing the loss of Public Open Space and the partial location of the site in Flood Zone 2 with the compelling need for a new medical centre in the town. Our work drew heavily on previous experience of reviewing public open provision for the town and government guidance requiring the provision of essential infrastructure.

Construction work began during July 2020 and when completed, will provide a medical centre capable of meeting the needs of 21,500 patients.