Planning

Planning demands a timely and attentive approach, whether you’re undertaking a large commercial development or making improvements to a home. The aim is to avoid the financial distress and significant delays that can be caused by planning application errors, challenges from third parties, and unforeseen circumstances that bring your project to a halt.

We advise organisations on their commercial planning needs, focusing on early identification and resolution of issues to minimise delays, and helping to increase the certainty of costs and outcome. Our commercial expertise spans many sectors, with particular experience in energy, healthcare, hospitality and retail.

Our team also helps individuals and families with planning requirements for residential properties and other building projects. We advise on how to operate lawfully within the planning system so you can avoid costly and stressful enforcement actions.

Once instructed to act, our experts guide you through the planning process, including drafting and negotiating planning and highways agreements, and liaising with local authorities to secure planning permission.

We work alongside your professional team to help drive the application through the various stages of the planning process. We address issues that arise along the way, and resolve any challenges and disputes with local authorities and other parties.

We can also help to interpret planning permissions and conditions, and advise on the terms of acquisitions that are conditional on planning, or require an expert’s view on the lawful use of a property.

HOW WE HELP YOU

• Our extensive planning experience enables us to identify potential issues and challenges quickly.
• We are skilled at working collaboratively with local planning authorities, developers and other project stakeholders to achieve planning objectives.
• We also work closely with commercial clients in the real estate sector to assess planning risks and opportunities across their existing portfolio, and for new acquisitions they intend to make.

IT'S GOOD TO BEAR IN MIND

• Think ahead about your planning needs. The more time you can give to the process, the greater the chance of success.
• Planning deadlines are often fixed events. Missing them can cause significant delays to your project.
• Flag issues and challenges as quickly as possible so there is plenty of time to resolve them.

KEY EXPERIENCE

• Negotiated the planning agreement with Westminster Council for the redevelopment of the former Foyle’s building on Charing Cross Road. This was a 300,000 sq. ft. mixed-use office-led development, which included over £4.5 million of contributions, the creation of a new public realm, and associated highways works.
• Advised on the share sale of an LLP for £39 million, resolving significant planning issues such as historic and ongoing breaches of planning control, a £3 million retention linked to satisfactory resolution of the breaches, and drafting the planning conditionality in the sale and purchase agreement.
• Successfully defended a planning challenge against Ardagh Glass and its construction of Europe’s largest bottling production and manufacturing facility. The work included a linked judicial review, Court of Appeal and enforcement proceedings.