Over the past few years, we’ve had a real flurry of queries concerning HMO developments (Houses in Multiple Occupation), including an illuminating appeal experience in Bristol very recently. Whilst they often (and sometimes deservedly) get bad press, HMO’s represent a very valid component of the housing market when managed professionally and effectively. Where else can … Read More
Have you struggled recently to move your application forward, foundered at registration stage with no case officer allocated for months or stalled in the early phases of consultation? We freely admit we have. Through no fault of their own, brutal budget cuts and post-covid application surges have left many LPA’s with mountains of cases to … Read More
With central Government policy turnabouts, cuts in LPA resources and endless delays in decision making, you might be forgiven for believing that the Planning system is currently only worth engaging with on the barest essential level i.e. through the formal application process. Pre-application enquiries (or pre-apps) certainly aren’t a priority today for many of the … Read More
Happy New Year, let’s hope it’s a good one. With a refreshed vigour for prioritising the climate crisis throughout our work, we’re going to use the year ahead to look at areas of the English planning system that support biodiversity, environmental protection and sustainability. So for our first blog offering of 2022, we take a … Read More
With the urgent pressure for housing delivery, yet increasingly onerous planning application requirements and convoluted prior approval processes, we’re often now approached by clients wanting to find a swifter means of securing permission for residential development. Whether its simply to establish Class C3 principles on a small urban site or just to obtain certainty for … Read More
What issues can and can’t be covered by planning objection As part of the democratic application process we have a right to comment on the impact of a scheme, be it to offer support for the proposals or to object. We are consulted either formally through a local news publication, by a site notice, through … Read More
You might not think much about the section of an application form that deals with Ownership Certificates (which you are legally required to complete, by the way), but it’s important that you complete this correctly to ensure you’ve ‘served’ the right notice and informed the right people. You don’t need to own a site to … Read More
We’ve recently submitted some responses to the Local Plan Review for Bristol, which aims to deliver on 33,500 new homes across the city by 2035, by, amongst other things, promoting urban living, building more densely and higher to achieve the most efficient use of land, and encouraging more brownfield sites to come forward. It ties in consistently with … Read More
If you have a major or contentious proposal, you’re very likely to save time and resources in the long run if you submit a pre-application enquiry or ‘pre-app’. It can be based on the minimum of design work but enables you to engage early with a Local Planning Authority and stakeholders to establish their position … Read More
Here at Planning Ventures, as well as sitting on Bristol’s Conservation Advisory Panel, we find ourselves increasingly involved in development projects with a heritage element. Be it Conservation Areas, listed buildings or sites with high archaeological potential, heritage assets are all around us and can often make for challenging but rewarding schemes. To keep up … Read More