Planning & Development Bulletin - Aug 2020

The Government’s White Paper ‘Planning for the Future’ was published on 6 August. It sets out a package of reforms which together represent the most fundamental change in England’s planning system since the 1947 Town & Country Planning Act. There now follows a consultation period ending on the 29 October, after which primary and secondary legislation will be required for some elements.

We look at some of the key proposals, what they are intended to achieve, and present our thoughts on what they could mean in practice. Click here to read article.

Our planning consultants have successfully secured a resolution to approve two planning applications which, when combined, will give planning permission for the redevelopment of part of the Meadows Community Centre site and the St Alban’s recreation ground.

The development will deliver a new state of the art community hub as well as 78 highly efficient and sustainable council rented homes. A number of improvements are also to be made to the recreation ground with a new flood lit multi-use games area, skate park, re-laid footpath pitch, play areas, recreational spaces and footpaths. Also, new planted areas will boost the attractiveness, usability, and biodiversity value of the site.

The applications were the subject of high levels of public interest. Extensive pre-application consultation was undertaken and following a very detailed review of the site’s opportunities and constraints, a comprehensive case was able to be put to the Joint Area Planning Committee who resolved to grant planning permission.

Key to the case was successfully demonstrating that the improvements being delivered to the wider recreation ground outweighed the limited harm that would be caused by the loss of a small part of the protected area of open space.

Our client outlined:

“Carter Jonas’ professional advice, enduring patience and invaluable in-depth knowledge of two local plans has guided us through a number of challenges on these projects. Despite the complicated and contentious nature of the applications, they went to planning committee with every single officer in support and were voted through unanimously by the newly formed joint committee. I have no doubt that Carter Jonas’s considered advice and meticulous coordination of the applications was a major factor in achieving this.”

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Paul Belton
Partner
07780 618141

On 11 August, our planning professionals secured planning permission on behalf of Brentford Football Club for the redevelopment of existing training ground facilities on Metropolitan Open Land in Osterley, in the London Borough of Hounslow.

The development, designed by Fuse Architects, will be constructed in five phases over a number of years and will replace existing temporary prefabricated buildings and an existing bungalow with a modern part two storey, part single storey training facility which will integrate with the existing pavilion building. The scheme will also provide an area for the club’s administrative offices, as well as a new hydrotherapy pool, improved parking, and security facilities, and an artificial 4G training track and playing pitch.

The scheme has been developed in extensive consultation with the club’s training staff and individual departments, whilst providing facilities which could be used not only by the first and B teams, but also for its women's team and community partner, the Brentford Football Club Community Sports Trust, should that demand arise.

Our professionals led the client through the planning process, from the pre-application stage which included detailed discussions with the Council, members of the planning committee and local amenity groups, to the coordination, preparation, and submission of the planning application. Throughout the process, we advised on several challenging issues, including developing on Metropolitan Open Land. We successfully argued that very special circumstances existed to outweigh any harm to the Metropolitan Open Land, including the consolidation of existing development on the site, a more attractive and well-designed essential facility for the day-to-day function of the site as a training ground and the need also for the club to have its administrative offices at the training ground.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Christopher Cooper
Associate Partner
07500 005023
christopher.cooper@carterjonas.co.uk

Despite challenging market conditions, our professionals are pleased to report development land sales during July that represent more than 650 housing plots across southern England.

Acting for a range of landowners, we have successfully secured development land sales across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, and Northamptonshire in recent weeks.

Key highlights include the sale of land off Gipsy Lane in Kettering, where we had previously obtained outline planning permission for up to 350 dwellings on behalf of a retained institutional client.

In Gloucestershire, we completed the sale of a parcel for 135 dwellings on the Perrybrook scheme near Gloucester, where we continue to manage the phased disposal of land with planning permission for 1,500 new homes and mixed-use development.

Similarly, in Oxfordshire we have exchanged unconditional contracts on the sale of a further phase of serviced residential development land for 171 new dwellings, on our scheme at Kingsgrove, Wantage.

Commenting on the team’s success, James Bainbridge, Head of Planning & Development Division said: “This recent string of successful disposals is encouraging news for the development land market and represents excellent results for our landed clients. We are working harder than ever to deliver for our clients and the current market conditions only emphasises the need for expert advice.”

“As we approach the autumn, we are busy bringing forward a number of immediate and longer-term development land opportunities to the market across the south of England. As such if you own development land please get in touch with our team and we would be pleased to share with you our view on current market sentiment.”

 

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

 

James Bainbridge
Head of Planning & Development Division
07887 834070
james.bainbridge@carterjonas.co.uk

Our planning professionals have secured outline planning permission for 136 private dwellings on the 13.5-acre former Noble Foods egg packaging facility in Bilsthorpe.

Bilsthorpe village is in the district of Nottinghamshire, approximately eight miles to the east of Mansfield, 12 miles to the north west of Newark on Trent and 15 miles to the north of Nottingham.

Bilsthorpe has a good range of amenities including a primary school, doctors’ surgery, village hall, churches, public houses, and shops. Bilsthorpe is located approximately three and a half miles south east of popular attractions including Sherwood Forest Center Parcs, Rufford Abbey, and Rufford Park Golf and Country Club.

We have now been instructed to secure a purchaser for the development. An information pack containing title information, layout plans, indicative house types and supporting surveys is available on request. The deadline for offers is Tuesday 29 September.

For further information, please contact a member of our team:

Steven Soper
Senior Surveyor
07788 338530
steven.soper@carterjonas.co.uk