Our team monitor Local Planning Authorities five-year housing land supply and advise you on the best prospects for submitting sites for inclusion in local plans or whether it is beneficial to proceed directly to submitting a planning application. The chances of promoting land or achieving permissions are increased where a Council has a poor record in the delivery of housing.
Working with the Local Planning Authority
We work closely with the Local Planning Authority, liaising with Councils and Local Plan teams to ensure that we prepare detailed representations on your behalf at formal consultation exercises. This includes tracking the timetables for consultation, ensuring that we seek to respond to all rounds of consultation and to appear at local plan examinations. Where appropriate we look to liaise with Councils and Parish Councils to understand whether additional information will assist us in achieving a satisfactory outcome for our client. Liaison with Parish Councils is particularly important in circumstances where we are seeking for sites to be included within Neighbourhood Plans.
Cambridge Local Plan
The Cambridge Local Plan was adopted in 2018 and is now subject to a review to produce a new Greater Cambridge Local Plan. Cheffins Planning team is working with a large number of landowners and promoting a wide portfolio of land for allocation within this plan for residential, industrial and commercial development. The constraints and opportunities of the submitted sites have been carefully considered and the best case put forward for each client.
Keeping planning costs down
Promoting clients’ interests is paramount but we are also conscious of cost and we work hand in hand with our New Homes team to see if there is scope to share costs with developers or site promoters. There are benefits in working with developers or promoters as they will meet the costs associated with promoting sites and planning applications. However, this can result in developers and promoters taking a share of the profits from the sale of the land. The share they take is dependent on the timescales and work associated in realising a site’s value. Cheffins can advise as to the wording and terms within a promotion agreement and ensure that the landowner achieves the best returns based on the costs and risks associated with a site.
Cheffins Planning team will liaise with landowners to agree the level of detail which should be put forward at each stage of the local plan and advise on the chances of a site being allocated. In the case of sites which are likely to be allocated, Cheffins will recommend the most appropriate way to realise the value of the site, this could be via an application or sale to a developer.