For most people the primary contact with the planning system is when they are involved in development that requires planning permission.  Often their greatest frustration is coming across  requirements they had not anticipated, such as the need for referral of applications to the Secretary of State or to the Mayor of London, additional expert advice, revisions to the scheme etc., all of which could delay development or add to overall costs.

Lichfield Planning provides comprehensive planning advice on all aspects of the procedures relating to Planning Applications and Appeals. This includes preliminary assessments of what the planning system will demand ,assessing the risks of refusal, and suggesting ways of overcoming these issues before the scheme is finalised. In addition we  prepare planning statements, and manage the procedures relating to planning appeals.

Pre-application discussions and negotiations with planning authorities are a particularly useful tool of our trade. Our staff members come from both private sector planning and from senior positions in local authorities and NGO’s. They therefore understand the concerns of both sides and are ideally placed to assist clients in preparing planning applications and negotiating contentious aspects as in the case of our work on behalf of the Sternberg Centre in London and many others.

We have extensive experience of managing planning applications for all manner of projects – from individual housing and commercial developments to community and religious establishments and to major corporate clients.  The latter include for example our appointment as Framework Consultants to British Airways, attending to all their properties within and outside the airports; similarly handling planning applications for the Goals Soccer network of sites around the UK, and the Octavia Housing Association.

Our Partners also have considerable experience in managing and presenting evidence at appeal, as for example gaining permission for British Airways HQ at Waterside and providing advocacy for the local communities concerned with a motor showroom development in the open countryside near Lincoln.