It is crucial that you seek the right guidance if you are a developer, a landowner, or an objector because law and planning policies are continuously changing.

Specialist counsel from individuals knowledgeable in all facets of the planning process is essential, from the early drafting of a planning application to third party challenges of a final decision.

Getting guidance from a specialist and experienced team can help you successfully navigate what can be a complex area of law, whether you’re getting ready for an initial application, appealing a decision, making sure planning obligations are carefully drafted, or complying with enforcement notices or judicial review due to third party obligations.
Specialist counsel from individuals knowledgeable in all facets of the planning process is essential, from the early drafting of a planning application to third party challenges of a final decision.

We deliver a thorough service that addresses every facet of the planning process, such as:
Getting guidance from a specialist and experienced team can help you successfully navigate what can be a complex area of law, whether you’re getting ready for an initial application, appealing a decision, making sure planning obligations are carefully drafted, or complying with enforcement notices or judicial review due to third party obligations.

• Application
• Appeals
• Objections
• Complex section 106 agreements
• Enforcement
• consultation in the process of creating a policy
• Judicial reviews

Applications

Preparing an application requires experience and attention to detail. If you are to make the most of a site’s potential for development, close examination of policy and planning issues is essential.  This includes:

• The impact of local/national planning policies
• The need to address policy, planning impact and technical issues
• Understanding how a planning authority or inspector will look into and address the key issues
• Anticipating and overcoming potential objections and challenges
• Recognising the importance of planning requirements, their obligations, and the problems they might provide to developers

Appeals

We can provide you with the following advice if you want to appeal a decision:

• The overall merits of a development proposal and its chances of success on appeal
• Whether the appeal should be heard informally, in writing, or through a public inquiry.
• the concerns that the appeal will need to address and what additional professional input will be necessary to guarantee success.

Planning obligations

The provision of affordable housing and developer contributions are typically ensured through planning obligations. These contracts must be meticulously written. We provide guidance on all facets of planning duties, such as:
We can provide you with the following advice if you want to appeal a decision:

• Compliance with the CIL Regulations 2010;
• SANG Credit mechanisms;
• Unilateral Undertakings;
• Infrastructure contracts, such as Section 278 and Section 38 contracts;
  We can provide you with the following advice if you want to appeal a decision:
• Renegotiation, modification and discharge of section 106 obligations.

Enforcement proceedings

It is extremely important to comply with enforcement notices as a failure to do so can lead to criminal sanction.

We provide guidance on all facets of enforcement, such as:

• Legal issues on enforcement, including whether a planning breach exists
• Whether buildings or their use are immune from enforcement action
• The effects of enforcement notifications, stop notices, and violation of condition notices on developers and landowners
• Possible violations of other law frameworks, such as listed building regulations
• How to avoid, delay or challenge enforcement proceedings by way of appeals

• Using planning duties and conditions as a way to deal with enforcement issues

• prosecution defence for violations of enforcement notifications.

Judicial review

Disputes over planning issues are becoming more frequent and may involve other parties.

We have a great deal of expertise bringing and defending legal challenges to the adoption of development plan policies and allocations, the granting of planning permission, and the rejecting of planning appeals. One of the first planning teams in the nation to successfully overturn the acceptance of a neighbourhood plan was ours.

We can offer advice on the justifications for a legal challenge and the best strategies for pursuing or rebutting it. Before a planning application is made, we can offer advice on how to negotiate it and get approval to reduce the likelihood of a legal challenge.

We can also provide advice regarding the likelihood of legal challenges to real estate and development transactions that are moving forward with the use of conditional contracts or options.

We have offices in London, Richmond, Southampton, Guildford, Lymington and Woking and can offer specialist expert support on a local and national level.

How we work with you

Important laws affect both households and businesses across the UK. Whether or not our clients are close to our offices, technology has made it possible for us to offer a high level of service to them. We can offer our advice in a number of ways:

• Over the telephone
• Via video conferencing
• In face to face meetings

We’ll talk about how you’d like to be contacted and the best ways to get to us in our initial conversation with you.