Spitfire Bespoke Homes sought to gain 1) a Local Plan allocation for new homes on Dunstall Farm, a plot of agricultural land on the southern edge of Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucestershire, and 2) a detailed planning consent for 250 homes.

Challenge

Over the preceding five years Cotswold District Council had consented a considerable amount of development in the town, including three new large developments. Reaction to this development had been largely negative from the local community and politicians, with the local MP and councillors condemning them as unsustainable. In January 2015 Cotswold District Council published its Development Strategy and Site Allocations document, which determined that only one site of 21 homes was to be allocated in Moreton-in-Marsh in the new Local Plan period.

Solution

• SP Broadway organised strategic meetings with key local community and political figures including the Town Council and the local MP. This allowed us to understand the positions of key stakeholders and provided us with an early opportunity to highlight the benefits of the proposals.

• We held two public exhibitions showcasing the plans, with members of the project team on hand to answer any queries and explain the benefits the development could bring to the town. To demonstrate our client’s commitment to community consultation, we invited all local residents within a broad radius of the site and all local political and community stakeholder groups.

• We organised a Community Working Group, inviting selected residents and town & district councillors to discuss the evolving masterplan for the site in greater detail. The Working Group met a total of eight times over six months.

• Despite an initial lack of political support for the proposals, as a result of our political and community engagement the site was allocated for 119 homes in Cotswold District Council’s Local Plan.

• Having secured the draft allocation, it was decided to bring forward a planning application. A third public exhibition was held and a detailed planning application for 250 homes was submitted.

• At a Planning Committee meeting, members resolved to defer the application in order to secure greater certainty on the scheme’s contribution towards primary education in Moreton-in-Marsh. We organised a meeting with the ward member for the site – a Planning Committee member – to discuss this issue in greater detail, and sent a letter to all Planning Committee members clarifying Spitfire’s position on this issue.

Result

Spitfire’s detailed planning application for 250 homes was consented by Cotswold District Council Planning Committee.

The post 250 homes appeared first on SP Broadway.

Our client sought consent to build 90 new homes and a railway station car park on fields on the edge of a village.

Challenge

• Concerns had been raised about too much development in the local area in general, in addition to specific concerns about traffic and parking.

• SP Broadway had to communicate the merits of our scheme while simultaneously demonstrating how it was a more practical and sustainable option compared to a neighbouring site.

Solution

• SP Broadway drafted a research document analysing recent planning committee meetings to best understand potential opportunities and likely concerns.

• We then drafted and sent a briefing letter to planning committee members, ward members and senior councillors. This letter laid out the advantages of the proposed development, emphasising the scheme’s compliance with the Local Plan, the sustainability of the location and emphasising key aspects of interest to councillors.

• We followed the letter with calls to members prior to the committee, to ensure they had received the letter, to establish whether they had any comments and to answer any last-minute questions.

Result

Stroud District Council Planning Committee voted to approve the application in April 2018. Three councillors voted to approve, three voted to oppose, four abstained and the Chairman of the Committee gave a casting vote to the proposals.

The post 90 new homes appeared first on SP Broadway.

Our client sought planning permission for up to 200 new homes on the edge of Chard, South Somerset.

Challenge

• Chard Town Council had requested that the development be delayed to align with the emerging Local Plan.

• Claims about the development’s impact on local roads and schools had been reported by local newspapers.

• The member for the site ward, and the members for the two adjacent wards, all sat on the South Somerset District Council Area West Committee which was due to determine the application.

Solution

• We produced and distributed a four-page briefing letter to all members of the Area West Committee which outlined the key features of the proposal and its benefits. These benefits included new affordable homes, the creation of new public open space, and contributions to public services. The letter also presented the scheme as an excellent opportunity to provide a new link road – an issue we knew from political research to be critical in convincing Committee members of the development’s value to Chard’s wider growth plan.

• We followed this briefing letter with courtesy calls to members of the Area West Committee to make sure that they had received the letter and to establish whether they had any comments or last-minute questions. We produced a detailed analysis of the responses made by members, providing our client with useful intelligence as they prepared for the Committee.

Result   

Having secured the planning officer’s recommendation for approval, the scheme was approved by South Somerset District Council Area West Committee. Seven councillors voted in favour of the proposals and two abstained.

The post 200 houses appeared first on SP Broadway.

A consortium asked SP Broadway to run the community consultation for its plans to build 210 new homes and a care home on the site of a former military hospital in East Dorset.

Challenge

The access route for the planned development would lead onto the already-congested A31, raising concerns amongst residents about increased traffic levels. Additionally, the hospital was located in an environmentally sensitive area with acid grasslands, bats, badgers and reptiles.

Solution

• We first took out a subscription to local newspapers to keep aware of planning and development issues in East Dorset and the views of key stakeholders, circulating relevant articles to the project team in a weekly email.

• We then organised a public exhibition, advertised in local newspapers. The exhibition was attended by 189 residents and stakeholders and 59 filled in a feedback form. Analysis of the forms showed 97% of respondents either supported or did not explicitly oppose the proposals, though there were understandable concerns about traffic and access.

• After the exhibition we set up a consultation website to enable interested residents to access up-to-date and accurate information about the scheme 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Once the proposals had been revised to address concerns we organised a second exhibition, attended by 191 residents and stakeholders. 39 attendees completed feedback forms, with analysis revealing fewer concerns about traffic and access and majority support for proposed ecological protection measures.

• After the second exhibition we drafted a concise three-page briefing letter to send to planning committee members ahead of determination; however this letter was not ultimately sent since feedback from the council was overwhelmingly positive in the run-up to committee.

Result

The proposals were unanimously approved by East Dorset District Council Planning Committee.

The post 210 houses & care home appeared first on SP Broadway.

Our client sought planning permission to build 20 new homes on the site of a small rural business park in the Cotswolds.

Communications Challenge

• The site was in the Green Belt and the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

• The new homes were of a highly contemporary design, unusual for a rural setting.

Solution

• Asked to assist in the run-up to the committee date, SP drafted and sent a four-page briefing letter to committee members. This made clear that most of the existing buildings were no longer suitable for business use and the new homes, though contemporary, were specifically designed to minimise their impact on the landscape. It was also possible to argue that the replacement of low-quality buildings and significant new tree planting represented an enhancement of the scenic beauty of the AONB, and improved the openness of the Green Belt.

• We then followed the letter up with courtesy calls to planning committee members in the week of the committee, to make sure they had received the letter, to establish whether they had any comments and to answer any last-minute questions.

Result

Having secured the planning officer’s recommendation for approval, the scheme was unanimously approved.

The post 20 houses appeared first on SP Broadway.

Our client, a housing association, sought planning consent to develop 70 new homes on a mixed brown field and green field site.

Challenge

The proposed development was highly controversial amongst local residents, with a large number of neighbours objecting to development of the site. Residents were largely opposed to the layout, density and tenure of homes, in addition to transport concerns. Our challenge was ameliorate the concerns of neighbouring residents while building political support for the proposals amongst senior councillors and ward members.

Solution

Appointed post submission, SP Broadway devised a comprehensive communications strategy designed to secure planning consent. This included:

• A meeting with representative residents and ward members to understand community concerns.

• A follow up meeting with representative residents and ward members briefing them on subsequent amendments made to the scheme to address their concerns.

• A briefing meeting with Labour Cabinet Member for Housing to build high level support for new homes, especially affordable homes.

• After gaining Cabinet level support, a briefing meeting with Planning Committee Chair to outline the proposals.

• A detailed briefing letter to Planning Committee members, explaining the scheme, listing the benefits and detailing how specific areas of concern had been addressed, including transport issues.

Result

Plymouth City Council Planning Committee voted 7-6 along party political lines to consent the development. One Labour councillor called the plans “brilliant” while another said “we need to accelerate the development on sites like this.”

The post 70 houses appeared first on SP Broadway.

Our client was seeking to build 71 homes on 7 acre site to the north of Cam, Gloucestershire, a large working village near the Severn estuary.

Challenge

The site lay outside the defined settlement boundary of Cam, and Stroud District Council claimed that it already had a 5-year supply of housing land.

Solution

• Taking a ‘bottom up’ approach to political consultation, we met first with the appropriate ward members on Cam Parish Council, followed by members of Stroud District Council including the Chairman of the Planning Committee.

• We impressed upon them that the proposed homes, although outside Cam’s settlement boundary, would have little impact on the character of the area, were in a suitable location to integrate with the community, and were a deliverable addition to the housing supply.

Result

Although Stroud District Council Planning Committee rejected the proposal, our client won consent on appeal.

In his ruling, the Planning Inspector agreed that the proposal would cause ‘limited harm to the character and appearance of the area’, was ‘broadly compatible with the…aim of locating development in sustainable locations’, and that Stroud District Council was ‘unable to demonstrate a 5 year supply of housing land’.

The post 71 houses appeared first on SP Broadway.