At Carter Jonas, we recognise that achieving planning permission is more than just being policy compliant. It is about understanding a wider range of factors and applying them to reach a favourable outcome.

Our aim is to provide consistently expert and meaningful advice in order to tackle challenging planning issues and deliver enhanced value. Optimising the development potential of your site, and ensure the best outcome for clients. We pride ourselves in delivering a bespoke service to you, the client, based on an understanding of your individual needs.

Our services include:

  • Site appraisals
  • Local plan promotion/monitoring
  • Planning applications
  • Planning appeals
  • Advice on section 106 and the community infrastructure levy (CIL)
  • Environmental impact assessments
  • Viability advice
  • Pre-application advice

Our clients have been able to draw on our practical and considered planning advice, in order to guide them through periods of political change or economic uncertainty.

As part of a multi-disciplinary property business, we can offer a ‘joined-up’ or ‘complete development life-cycle’ service by working in collaboration with our development and masterplanning colleagues. In short, we can bring together the right expertise from across the firm to best suit your needs. We believe our considerable in-house commercial expertise sets us apart from conventional planning consultancies.

Sectors we provide planning consultancy advice within:

  • Residential
  • Office
  • Industrial
  • Retail & leisure
  • Hotels
  • Automotive & roadside
  • Science & technology
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Student
  • Accommodation
  • Alternative sectors 
  • Affordable housing


We work with major landowners, institutions, public sector bodies, developers, occupiers, investors, retailers, sports clubs, schools, colleges and hospitals, as well as private individuals requiring our expertise in the planning application process. Operating at every scale in every sector, we offer a full spectrum of planning advice – from single house proposals through to major mixed-use regeneration schemes and long-term strategic land promotion.

Barratt Homes
Cambridge Assessment
Crest
Defence Infrastructure Organisation
Granta Park
Taylor Wimpey
The Welding Institute
Turnstone
Cambridge University
Get in touch
Our dedicated Planning and Development specialists work nationally across a variety of services, to find a consultancy for your specific need select a region below:
  • Working on the Great West Quarter from the bid stage in 2003 through to the development’s completion in 2015
  • Securing permission for the first One Planet Living development in Brighton
  • Getting my head around quirky planning issues

Katy is a chartered planning and development surveyor with extensive experience working with private sector clients across London and the South East. Katy joined Planning Perspectives in 2002 before moving across to Carter Jonas with the rest of the team at the end of 2014. Katy advises on various forms of development but is particularly proficient advising on major residentially-led, mixed-use developments.  Her work ranges from providing quick pre-acquisition advice through to managing complex project teams through the planning process and beyond to implementation.  A significant proportion of her work involves adding value to redundant employment sites through complex Section 106 negotiations, transforming such sites into exciting new destinations.

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David is a Partner in the Planning & development team and is based in our Chapel Place office.

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Peter is a chartered town planner with over 30 years experience. He was a graduate at Healey and Baker and a Director of DTZ. He set up Planning Perspectives in 1997 which was bought by Carter Jonas in December 2014. He provides planning and development advice to private sector clients (including landowners, occupiers, developers and investors) to help unlock the potential of difficult sites and maximise the value of complex mixed use schemes and regeneration opportunities. He has experience in the retail sector having secured permission for - 1.5 million sq ft of food retail floorspace and 750,000 sq ft of on-line distribution space; a business park; industrial and distribution schemes; HQ office buildings; hotels, and educational buildings. He advises a number of golf clubs and has recently obtained permission for a major golf course and luxury hotel. In terms of residential development he is promoting a strategic allocation and has obtained permission for a retirement village, small housing schemes and numerous private houses. He has worked on a number of highly constrained sites, including obtaining permission for a large foodstore on a listed quayside within a World Heritage Site. He has advised on a number of developments involving listed buildings or located within the Green Belt, AONBs and Conservation Areas.

Outside the office Peter is to be found on Woking Golf Course (or any other quality course he has not played previously). He is on the Golf Committee of the Lord’s Taverners and a supporter of Harlequins RFC. 

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Alister is a chartered town planner with over 15 years' experience, gained across the residential, commercial, industrial, education and retail sectors mainly for private landowners and developers. He had a brief spell in the public sector with Canterbury City Council at the start of his career and joined Planning Perspectives in 2001 before moving across with the rest of the Planning Perspectives team to Carter Jonas at the end of 2014. His professional career has largely been focused in London and around the south east of England working on residentially-led, mixed-used schemes, commercial/industrial schemes and large scale energy/infrastructure projects on brownfield land. He was also been involved in successfully promoting education facilities in the Green Belt.

Outside of work, Alister has a keen passion for all sports including football, golf and cricket. Although, this is now more in a watching capacity as his three young children (including twins) have forced him into early playing retirement.

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Jess is based in the Chapel Place office, joining the team from Planning Perspectives. She graduated from the London School of Economics with a Masters in Urbanisation and Development and has worked in planning consultancy since 2007. Jess has experience in negotiating a range of residential, leisure, industrial and mixed-use planning applications and been successful with a number of small residential appeals across the country. In addition, she provides strategic planning advice to clients on their property portfolios. Her clients include a variety of house builders, developers, investors and individuals.

Previously a synchronised swimmer, Jess is always on the hunt for the perfect outdoor pool in a tropical climate.

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Nick is a chartered town planner and development surveyor with over 25 years' experience, gained across the residential, commercial, retail and industrial sectors for corporate, institutional and private landowners and developers. He has worked at CBRE and Drivers Jonas Deloitte. His professional experience is in three main sectors – Strategic Land / Projects, Retail / Mixed-Use and Central London. Strategic Projects / Land involves the promotion of land for commercial and residential development for landowners and developers. Retail / Mixed-Use schemes are a blend of edge of centre and town centre mixed-use schemes with food stores and other uses, often residential. This sector includes regeneration and waterside schemes. Central London focuses on projects from Canary Wharf to Hammersmith and Camden down to Wandsworth, Southwark and Lambeth.

When he isn’t working, Nick can be found playing golf (increasingly badly) and spending time re-stocking and emptying his wine cellar to indulge his passion for wine.

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Sarah Cox is a skilled and experienced chartered town planner with over 20 years’ experience. She has experience in managing the planning process on residential, mixed-use, commercial and leisure developments in a variety of locations on behalf of a diverse client base including developers, investment funds, social housing provider landowners and public companies.

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Emma has been a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (MRTPI) since 2008 and joined Carter Jonas in 2010 having previous experience in multidisciplinary private practice.

Emma provides advice to clients on all aspects of town and country planning including the development potential of land and property in urban and rural areas. Preparing and negotiating planning applications and appeals for residential, business and leisure schemes.

She also provides strategy advice to Estates in the form of Estate Appraisals in which she identifies sites and buildings with development potential and an appropriate strategy to realise this in the short, medium and long term.

This includes land and buildings in urban, rural and Green Belt areas.  Emma has also been involved in the preparation and submission of various representation to facilitate the promotion of land through the Local Development Framework process.

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Steven is Partner and Head of Planning Southern Region and is based in our Oxford office.

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Huw is a Partner in the Planning & Development team and is based in our Oxford office.

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Suzy Birdseye is an experienced strategic town planner with a proven track record in site promotion, delivering strategic greenfield residential and mixed-use urban extensions across the southwest, Gloucestershire and west midlands. She can provide advice on planning consultancy, site appraisal and development potential.

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Colin is a Partner and was appointed Head of Planning & Development Division in November 2020, he is based out of our Cambridge office.  He has over 25 years’ experience of planning consultancy and has a broad sphere of work.  He acts for a wide range of private, institutional and developer clients and has worked on significant planning applications and appeals.

He regularly instructs Counsel, and has appeared at a number of Local Plan examinations and in Section 78 and other appeals where he has often given evidence.  He carries out much land promotion work and has a strong track record of delivering planning consents taking projects through their entire process from site identification to construction on site.  

Away from work, Colin is Chairman of the Cambridge Forum for the Construction Industry and of the Cambridge branch of networking group, Interact.  He is also Chairman of the Dining Rights Committee at the Hawks’ Club, a sporting club in the City for Cambridge University sportsmen. He is a regular, if poor golfer, a keen cyclist and a committed, but somewhat less dangerous skier than he once was.

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Nicky is a Partner in the Planning & Development team and is based in our Oxford office.

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Richard is a Partner within the Carter Jonas' Eastern Region Planning Team. His planning expertise covers residential, commercial and mixed-use projects, with involvement in the submission and delivery of major planning applications, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) preparation, site appraisals, planning appeals and site promotions through the Local Plan process.
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Justin is a Partner for the Eastern Region.   He has approximately 19 years of planning experience and specialises in residential, commercial and mixed use planning applications, dealing with a wide range of planning-related work including site appraisals and feasibility studies; applications relating to commercial, education, residential and student schemes; planning and enforcement appeals; S106 negotiation and the discharge of conditions; development plan representations; and providing general planning advice. Justin advises clients from a diverse sector range including private residential and commercial developers (national, regional and local), education institutions, commercial organisations and private landowners. He has experience in both the public and private sector dealing with a range of development schemes.  He is a Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. 

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Paul is an Associate Partner and works as a Planner within the Eastern Region Planning and Development Team based in Cambridge.  As a Chartered Town Planner and a Member of the RTPI, Paul has over 13 years experience working in both the public and private sector.  Paul carries a diverse case load ranging from small scale private residential developments through to large scale mixed use schemes and the promotion of Strategic Urban Extensions.  With experience of residential, leisure and commercial developments, Paul has a proven track record in project managing consultant teams and securing complex planning approvals. Paul also has experience in promoting sites through the Local Plan process, contesting planning appeals and processing enforcement action cases. 

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Peter is an Associate working out of the firm’s Eastern Region office in Cambridge. He has over 8 years’ experience, all of which has been spent in the private sector. He works across a wide spectrum of planning areas but with an emphasis on planning applications and appeals for a range of residential, commercial and mixed use developments. Peter project manages schemes on behalf of both public and private sector clients and has an excellent reputation for timely advice, prompt action and positive results. Peter also has an Urban Design qualification and provides advice on design matters and prepares Design and Access Statements to accompany planning applications.

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Laura is an Associate with over 6 years post-qualification experience. She joined Carter Jonas in July 2021 and prior to this gained experience in both the public and private sector. Laura specialises in large-scale residential applications and site promotions, including new settlements and Green Belt release for national and local house builders, private developers and promoters and landowners. She is also highly experienced in acting for clients on industrial, commercial and retail projects, including brownfield redevelopment, stakeholder engagement and town centre uses. She provides clients with planning strategies, prepares and project manages complex planning application, leads on Appeals and prepares representations and attends hearings in respect of site promotion.
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