Three recurring traits to successful planning applications:

1. Planning consultancy and planning legal advice having been sought by applicants at the very outset of their internal discussions around potential new development ideas.
2. Research in to people’s attitudes towards different types of developments having been considered by applicants at the very outset of their projects.
3. Meaningful consultation with local communities and stakeholders having been undertaken by the applicant’s professional planning consultancy team prior to submission of their planning application (including pre-application discussions having been held with the local planning authority).

Why these traits are found in successful planning applications:

• Planning consultants and planning solicitors can act as a very useful critical friend in the earliest stages of clients’ internal discussions around their exciting new major development ideas. Whilst sharing clients’ enthusiasm and helping them to identify and seize finite development opportunities, they also crucially help clients to identify, understand and manage future planning risks from an early stage in order to help them avoid pursuing a poorly thought through planning strategy and all the abortive costs this can often entail.
• Research into people’s perceptions of different types of development helps improve developers’ and investors’ knowledge base about people’s circumstances and aspirations. This in turn helps developers and investors try and prepare more robust evidence bases behind their future plans for investment in different development related sectors.
• Early engagement with affected local communities, stakeholders and decision makers can not only help to manage applicants’ reputations with those groups, but also helps to identify problems with initial schemes so that difficult issues can try to be addressed prior to the submission of a planning application. Pre-application discussions are essential in this regard to help foster a positive working relationship with the council and future consultees; and to identify areas in the initial scheme which require further thought.

My latest podcast explores people’s attitudes towards different types of developments (trait number two) in more detail.

The Housing Crisis Part 1: Accessible Housing Providers

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