Our Services
Southern Planning Practice provide a wide range of planning consultancy services, including:
Development Appraisals
In order to advise clients on the development potential of their land and buildings, a development appraisal can be undertaken. A Development Appraisal involves visiting the site, researching the planning history and examining the relevant planning policies for the area. This is usually done as a fixed fee.
Planning Audits
Southern Planning Practice can also undertake more in-depth Planning Audits to identify the planning potential and options for Estates or large sites or land holdings, where there are multiple buildings or land uses.
Planning Applications
The preparation and submission of planning applications is becoming increasingly complex, with increasing amounts of supporting information required, especially in sensitive areas such as National Parks. There can be a need to provide ecology reports, flood risk assessments, highway statements, heritage statements, lighting assessments, sustainability reports, arboricultural impact reports and nitrate and phosphate budget calculations. Southern Planning Practice can help to make this process easier for you. Where necessary, we will seek the assistance of external consultants to help provide this information (subject to separate fees), although it will depend on the site location and the site characteristics and any designations that might apply.
Once the application has been submitted, further work can be required if any issues arise or there is a need to respond to any consultee comments or third party representations, or if the proposal needs to be amended in any way. SPP will assist from start to finish, along with any follow-up work where necessary.
Householder Applications
Householder applications involve extensions, outbuildings and other developments within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse.
Southern Planning Practice can provide planning assistance on the smallest of domestic projects, as well as provide the necessary planning drawings to support such applications.
We can also advise on projects that qualify as permitted development and can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate to confirm that the work can proceed without needing planning permission.
Recent changes to the permitted development regime now allow householders to build an additional storey on their property, as well as making permanent the ability to build a single storey rear extension up to 6 or 8 metres, although these projects require the Prior Approval of the Council. Southern Planning Practice can advise clients on the latest changes to permitted development rights that apply to their property and can prepare the necessary applications required to achieve this.
Prior Approval applications
Certain types of development and changes of use no longer require full planning permission and instead require the Prior Approval of the local authority, with considerations limited to technical matters such as transport and highways, flooding, contamination and noise.
Southern Planning Practice can advise clients on the suitability of buildings and the types of development that can benefit from these more flexible permissions and can prepare and submit the necessary application in order to secure Prior Approval.
Lawful Development Certificate Applications
Lawful Development Certificates provide confirmation that either an existing use or development or a proposed use or development is lawful. For example, a building or use that has acquired immunity through the passage of time, or to confirm that a proposed project is permitted development. This is a complex area of planning law and in the case of uses or other forms of development which are immune, can require a variety of evidence to prove the case on the balance of probabilities.
Southern Planning Practice can provide advice on Lawful Development Certificates and can prepare and submit the necessary applications in order to obtain a Certificate.
Listed Building Consent Applications
Listed Building Consent is required if you want to undertake any work to a Listed Building that would affect its special character. That applies to the inside as well as the outside of the building and not just those parts of the building mentioned in the listing description. The law surrounding Listed Buildings is complex. Works carried out to a Listed Building without consent constitutes a criminal offence. Southern Planning Practice can advise clients on the need for Listed Building consent and can prepare and submit Listed Building Consent Applications. Input may be required from a Heritage Consultant on detailed schemes.
Advertisement Consent Applications
Southern Planning Practice can advise clients on the need for Advertisement Consent and can prepare and submit Advertisement Consent applications.
Ecology
Our in-house ecologist, Nikki Windebank, can provide technical assistance and ecological advice on planning projects. Nikki is a qualified planning ecologist who has worked in development control for several local planning authorities and comes with insight into what is required of your applications. Through our in-house ecology services, we are able to ensure that ecological considerations can be fully incorporated into the design of your scheme from the beginning, creating meaningful and sustainable outcomes for biodiversity and delivering a successful outcome for your project.
See our Ecology page for more information.
Architectural Assistance
Our in-house Architect, Steve Wickenden, can provide drawings and design advice in support of application submissions, as well as other commissioned drawing and design work.
We also work alongside other local Architects, Architectural Practices and design companies.
Design and Access Statements / Heritage Statements
Southern Planning Practice can produce bespoke Design and Access Statements and Heritage Statements to support clients’ own applications submissions.
Country Houses and Estate Plans
We assist clients with the preparation and submission of large bespoke country homes where planning policy is restrictive. We assist several estates and farms with estate plans and farm diversification strategies.
Appeals
Southern Planning Practice is well equipped to prepare and submit appeals, in the event that planning permission is refused or if a client has been served with an Enforcement Notice. Our consultants have a wide experience of dealing with a range of appeals. Appeals can be lodged either as Written Representations, Hearings or Public Inquiry. Our consultants can best advise which procedure would be best suited to the individual cases.
Enforcement
Southern Planning Practice has experience of dealing with enforcement issues, whether it is responding to an initial enforcement enquiry or visit by an authority, or responding to a Planning Contravention Notice, or if a client has been served an Enforcement Notice. We can liaise with the authority on your behalf and seek to resolve the matter in the best way possible, whether that be through negotiation or the submission of a retrospective planning application or a Lawful Development Certificate application. If no breach of planning control is taking place, we can make the necessary representations to the authority on behalf of clients with reference to relevant appeal decisions or case law.
Discharging Planning Conditions
Southern Planning Practice can assist in discharging conditions attached to a Planning Permission. We can ensure that sufficient information is presented to the council and complete the Discharge of Conditions application on your behalf to enable your development to begin.
Site Promotion and Local Plan Representations
Southern Planning Practice actively promotes sites on behalf of clients.
Local authorities are required by law to review their local plans every 5 years, so will often undertake a ‘Call for Sites’ in order to update their Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELLA). Southern Planning Practice can assist clients in putting forward their sites for consideration at the appropriate time and with the necessary information to ensure the site is appropriately considered.
We also represent clients at various stages of the Local Plan process, including at the initial Issues and Options stage, during public consultation or at the Examination hearing. This can involve promoting their own site or objecting to a proposed policy or allocated site.
Work on Behalf of Local Authorities
Southern Planning Practice can act as the case officer for complicated or controversial Planning Applications or planning enforcement cases. We can also undertake planning and enforcement appeal work on behalf of LPA’s, as well act as the LPA’s expert planning witness in High Court proceedings.
Objections
We are regularly asked to review planning applications or appeals that have been lodged by a neighbour or an adjoining or nearby landowner. We can lodge letters of objection and appear at Planning Committee or appeal hearings on behalf of individuals or a group of residents, in order to ensure that their points of concern are fully taken into account in the decision-making process.
We provide honest and impartial advice to clients on the likely success of an objection and how this might affect the outcome of a planning decision.
Other
Southern Planning Practice covers a wide range of work, across both rural and urban areas. We deal with a wide range of issues, including housing schemes (individual or multiple), residential conversions, agriculture, equestrian, commercial, tourism, specialist housing such as HMO’s, Childrens' Homes and C3(b) supported living, and Green Energy to name a few.
Please see our project pages for examples of the some of the projects that we get involved in.
We are retained by the British Marine Federation as national planning consultants to provide advice on marine related planning issues and can offer reliable waterway planning services and advice. We have experience of dealing with houseboats, moorings and marinas and development on canals.
The Practice has provided advice to a major chain of pubs for a number of years. We have been successful in obtaining planning permission for both refurbishment and redevelopment. This has included both residential and commercial pub and hotel redevelopment and involving Listed Building and buildings within Conservation Areas.
Homelodge Buildings Ltd
Homelodge Ltd produce a range of timber lodges which can be used to provide additional annexe accommodation for residential properties.
In most instances the siting of a mobile home within the curtilage of a dwelling for use as an annexe in conjunction with the host property does not need planning permission.
Southern Planning Practice has been working in partnership with Homelodge Ltd for some years, securing permission for their mobile home annexes prior to their installation. This usually involves the submission of Lawful Development Certificate application, of which there has been considerable success.
Examples of some of the Homelodge projects that Southern Planning Practice have been involved in can be found on the projects pages.
Homelodge Ltd tailor their annexes to meet the specific needs of their clients. Further information and contacts can be found on this link to their website: https://www.homelodge.co.uk/
