Merry Christmas from SP Broadway!
We have had another busy year at SP Broadway, trusted by planning and development clients to provide political and community engagement support on a host of projects across the UK.
From strategic Green Belt sites in the home counties to historically significant buildings in the London boroughs, we have been on the front line communicating your proposals to politicians, residents, and local media. We have supported planning applications for data centres, film studios, hotels, restaurants, holiday lodges, extra care retirement communities, new homes, and a golf course. There are very few councils south of Birmingham where, after 14 years, SP Broadway does not have a footprint.
This year we have supported projects across Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire as well as Buckinghamshire, Winchester, Canterbury and Richmond. We have also ventured east, west and north of Birmingham, working on sites in North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Tamworth and North Warwickshire.
During 2023 we continued to host our regular ‘Politics of Planning’ virtual roundtables with local politicians, and we are very grateful to so many senior councillors for joining us to explain their vision for their area and take part in lively Q&As. This year we have hosted roundtable breakfasts with councillors from Tonbridge and Malling, Buckinghamshire, South Norfolk, Fareham, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Bristol, Brent, Hackney, South Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire, and Surrey as well as special events with Clive Betts MP, Ben Everitt MP and Deputy Mayor of London Jules Pipe. Our events return next year with the leaders of Wiltshire and Southampton Councils joining us early in 2024.
On the face of it, the year has been more politically stable than the last (only one Prime Minister and two Ministers) but, especially in the planning sector, it has been anything but straightforward. The May elections saw many traditional Conservative administrations change hands or lose their majority. The revised NPPF, announced this time last year, has been like a spectre to the planning industry, close to being announced for months while continuing to stall Local Plans across the country. Planning itself has also become a key policy battleground as the war machines of Labour and the Conservatives warm up for a general election in 2024. This year we have helped clients to prepare for a likely Labour Government organising a roundtable at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool which saw Shadow Minister Matthew Pennycook MP and leading Labour councillors give an insight into emerging Labour planning strategy.
Wherever you find yourself this Christmas, we wish you a peaceful and restful break, and we look forward to supporting you and your projects in 2024.
Happy Christmas and best wishes,
David, Adam, Alice, James, Edward and Melisa.
