Need a planning consultant in the East Midlands?

Planning Consultancy East Midlands

A planning consultant may be able to provide the expertise needed to get a complex property development project off the ground.

We investigate how a planning consultancy can help problematic schemes comply with the requirements of local planning authorities and secure planning consent.

This article also looks at development policies in the East Midlands and the local planning authorities involved, before featuring some amazing developments masterminded by five planning consultancies in the region.

Planning Consultants offer a Professional Service

A planning consultancy can bring a wide range of specialist skills to a development project and will have in-depth knowledge of national and local planning policies. Their professional service includes project assessments, feasibility studies, preparing and submitting planning applications, negotiating with local planning authorities, fulfilling building regulations, managing flood risk assessments and handling planning appeals.

Development in the region

The region contains the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. The East Midlands Councils comprise the 40 local planning authorities and four unitary authorities (Derby, Leicester, Rutland and Nottingham) across the region, enabling them to work together on important issues such as development planning.

The East Midlands Councils 2024 development plan focuses on fostering sustainable growth across the region while safeguarding its natural beauty and heritage. Approximately 50,000 new homes are planned for the region by 2035, alongside improvements to transport infrastructure and support for the local economy, particularly in manufacturing, technology, and logistics.

One of the major challenges is managing the balance between development and the protection of rural landscapes and heritage sites. The increasing demand for housing, driven by population growth and tourism, creates pressure on Green Belt land and natural areas, particularly in places like the Peak District and Sherwood Forest. The councils are addressing this by prioritising brownfield site developments and encouraging eco-friendly construction methods.

Development is targeted at Nottingham and Leicester: one major scheme is the Garden Village Project near South Derbyshire, which will create new homes in a sustainable community.

Five Established Planning Consultancy Firms in the Region

GraceMachin Planning & Property  

With over 40 years of expertise in the property industry, Nottinghamshire-based GraceMachin deals with all types and sizes of projects and has a high success rate with planning applications. The firm operates in rural and urban areas including Nottingham city centre, and Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Rutland and Lincolnshire. Projects include residential, agricultural, commercial, equestrian and leisure schemes.

GraceMachin secured planning consent to convert this vacant Dutch barn in the South Scarle Conservation Area in Nottinghamshire. The firm was instructed to assess the client’s farmyard’s planning potential and identified the barn as a development opportunity. GraceMachin led a team comprising a consultant architect, structural surveyor and ecologist to create a planning application alongside a planning, heritage and design access statement, and planning consent was swiftly secured.

Andrew Granger & Co.

Through its offices in Leicester, Loughborough, and Market Harborough, Andrew Granger & Co. offers planning and development services, rural agency, residential estate agency, feasibility and site appraisals, planning applications, appeals, development plan promotion, land and development sales.

Andrew Granger & Co. secured planning consent for residential development on a main route into Leicester city. The site was split across two neighbouring properties and previous applications had failed before Andrew Granger & Co. was approached. Following pre-planning investigations, a scheme for low-density residential development across the two-acre site was drawn up. The key to success was resolving the potential highway impact by merging the two existing driveways into a single junction.

Hughes Town Planning Consultancy Ltd.

This chartered town planning practice works with clients in the public and private sectors on a range of planning matters. Hughes Planning are specialists in advising on Paragraph 84 applications (for isolated, new country houses in England including Green Belt sites and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, providing that they are of exceptional quality.)

Hughes Planning achieved this consent for their 26^th Para 84 house application. The proposal involves a two-storey house and detached pool house set in a diverse landscape near Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire. Planning consent was granted on appeal in July 2024.

Landmark Planning

Based in Leicester and operating throughout the Midlands, Landmark Planning is a town planning consultancy specialising in sustainable development. Key areas of expertise include securing planning permission for development in the public and private sectors, commercial and residential development, regeneration schemes, site promotion, listed buildings and conservation areas.

Landmark Planning secured planning consent for a veterinary centre on part of allocated green wedge space near Melton Mowbray.

Ashall Town Planning

Working in the Coalville area of north west Leicestershire, chartered town planning consultancy Ashall Town Planning is a Royal Town Planning Institute member offering independent planning and property development advice. Its services include planning permission applications, architectural plans, planning appeals, permitted development applications, loft conversions, change of use applications and retrospective planning applications.

Ashall Town Planning secured planning permission for the conversion and change of use of the Old Forge in Diseworth, Leicestershire.

Engage a Planning Consultancy

If you are contemplating a development scheme in the East Midlands, or have been refused planning permission, you may be inclined to engage the professional services of a planning consultancy.

The schemes featured in this article may have inspired you, and one of the firms could suit your project. Advice from a planning consultant or chartered town planner may offer the best chance of success with a complicated or unusual planning application.