Planning and Highways
The Town and Country Planning System is now approaching its 65th birthday.
Rather than being pensioned off however, the system instead is coming of age and has been subject to vast amount of political scrutiny over the last ten years. It now occupies a level of importance in terms of infrastructure provision (and making up for lack of central government investment) that its creators would never have dreamed of.
Over the last decade, the government has sought to make procedures simpler, fairer and more transparent. However, the unprecedented level of change in the system that has occurred means that the system is now a confusing mix of old and new; along with policy and political thought outpacing what can be achieved by the development control process.
This all adds up to uncertainty for those involved, be they developers, occupiers, local authorities or indeed practitioners. To take a development through from initial concept forming, the development plan process; master planning; design; infrastructure investigation and provision; planning application; section 106 negotiations and (hopefully) to achieve planning permission takes vast amounts of resource, time, energy and persistence. It also requires a robust professional team, including lawyers, who understand not only the law but the political consequences and processes.
"Securing permission is a team effort" says Richard Guyatt, the head of the Planning and Regeneration team at Bond Pearce. "A developer needs surveyors, planning consultants, highways engineers, lawyers and invariably also PR consultants to steer a project through the myriad of potential pitfalls. Faced by this plethora of expert opinion, local planning authorities increasingly find that they also need to draw on a team of internal and external experts to ensure the authority is also properly represented and advised."
What makes work so interesting for the planning team is that planning affects real people every day of their lives and has a fundamental effect on how towns, cities and the country as a whole are shaped for the future. The central role of planning in adaptation for and mitigation of climate change adds yet another level of interest and excitement for Guyatt.
He says "Everyone is interested - everyone has a view of the merits of a building or whether a new retail outlet should be allowed or whether a new power station, overhead cable route or new road is required." Guyatt says "We have the experience and ability to act on any such projects. Our particular expertise is in infrastructure, where our knowledge of compulsory purchase can be used to achieve land assembly using the relevant body's powers and ensure that the scheme moves forward without ransom by reluctant landowners."
The process is also an interesting mix between contentious and non-contentious work. Whilst argument between developer and authority can be acrimonious (and lead to an appeal to the Secretary of State) equally, if permission is issued, then it is in all parties' interest to make sure permission is robust and capable of withstanding scrutiny in the High Court by way of judicial review or statutory challenge.
Another matter of note to Guyatt is the involvement of the Homes and Communities Agency in much of what is new and innovative in planning. Their involvement in the market has kept the development industry going during difficult times, whilst they seek also to shape the attitude of the market to more sustainable development.
Increasingly, the Bond Pearce team is also dealing with significant infrastructure schemes such as power stations, cable runs and of course the team has particular expertise in renewable energy. Over the next few years it is likely to be fully involved in some of the Round 3 Offshore Wind Farm schemes and, with its base in Bristol, is ideally located to assist those with schemes that must be taken through the new Infrastructure Planning Commission processes.
