Need a planning consultant in Manchester?

Planning Consultant Manchester

If you have a complex planning project with challenging issues to resolve, you might consider using the services of a planning consultant.

We drill down into exactly what a planning consultant can bring to a scheme before looking at development projects successfully steered through the planning system by five outstanding planning consultancies in Manchester.

What is a Planning Consultant?

Planning consultants have strategic skills and experience in helping problematic schemes find a way to achieve planning consent. While their expertise on relevant local planning authority policies can be invaluable, planning consultants are also extremely knowledgeable about national priorities, listed building matters and permitted development rights.

Industry knowledge gained over many years of working alongside local government officers will mean that they can deal with project assessment, a feasibility study, preparation and submission of a planning application, follow-up negotiations with a planning officer or planning committee, and if necessary, handle planning appeals. Their specialist knowledge of planning requirements can often identify solutions for complicated schemes, saving you time, and proving cost effective by cutting through red tape to give you the best chance of achieving the right result.

Do I need a Planning Consultant or an Architect?

As they perform different roles, this will depend on your project. Whereas an architect designs buildings, a planning consultant will ensure the regulatory and legal process is complied with. For a simple scheme, an architect may suffice, whereas a town planning consultant could prove invaluable in achieving planning permission for more exacting building operations.

The Manchester Area and Development

One of the fastest-growing cities in the UK, Manchester in the north west of England has seen a massive expansion in recent years, which shows little sign of abating. The City of Manchester and the county of Greater Manchester is the second largest urban area outside London: there are over 2.55m people in the Greater Manchester area which includes outlying towns and cities.

Housebuilding and development are encouraged in The Manchester Core Strategy 2012-2027 to meet demand. Houses should be sustainable and built to good design, and brownfield sites and urban regeneration schemes are being promoted across Greater Manchester’s town centres.

The demand for city centre living alongside employment opportunities makes Manchester a vibrant place: it benefits from a thriving cultural scene, great architecture and is a hub for many industries from healthcare and finance to media and creative industries. Due to its robust housing market, the city attracts London firms keen to move to areas with less expensive costs yet opportunities for investment and growth. This well-connected city is attractive to young working professionals, resulting in a high demand for rental properties, and is also home to high numbers of students at two universities in the city and three in the surrounding Manchester areas.

Five Projects overseen by Planning Consultants in Manchester

RJP Town Planners

These town planning advisers are skilled in complex residential schemes, housing projects, infrastructure, commercial and cultural schemes, and emphasise collaborative work, and good communication with clients, planning authorities, and stakeholders to create schemes that are fit for purpose.

RJP Town Planners successfully submitted a planning application for a change of use from office to residential in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Originally a warehouse, the building dates from the mid-19th century and was used as office space, but internal space limitations made it difficult to find commercial tenants and the owners opted to convert it into a townhouse. Challenges included complying with space standards, designing a roof terrace that would retain the roof profile, and achieving acceptable interior acoustics for residential use. To resolve these issues, planners put together a team of specialists in sustainability, heritage, acoustics, and air quality. The completed scheme, which includes a new roof terrace and double-glazed wooden sash windows, blends well within the city’s Stephenson Square Conservation Area.

Kenyon Planning

This independent Manchester-based consultancy provides specialist advice to developers, individuals and landowners and works closely with architects, highways consultants, ecologists, flood risk engineers and other specialists to resolve planning issues. Their work includes housing developments, house extensions, listed buildings, parks, bars and restaurants. As well as providing planning advice, Kenyon Planning presents planning applications, advises on permitted development rights and handles appeals.

This scheme involved the redevelopment of a former nursing home and resulted in conversion work and new build housing in a conservation area. Kenyon Planning dealt with issues including protected trees and design and impact on the street scene to achieve planning permission.

Hourigan Planning

Hourigan Planning deals with all aspects of development management and works with developers, landowners, operators and land promoters nationwide. This chartered town planning practice is experienced in achieving planning permission for replacement dwellings in open countryside and Green Belt areas.

Planning permission for a replacement dwelling in the Staffordshire Green Belt was achieved by demonstrating to the local planning authority that it did not comprise inappropriate development in the Green Belt. Working with architects, Hourigan Planning advised increasing the floorspace and volume of a tired timber bungalow in the Staffordshire Moorlands while not breaching Green Belt policy. The council agreed to support the scheme, which used local natural pink sandstone found in the Moorlands. Hourigan Planning provided initial advice and a strategy for the planning application, advised on technical survey work and liaised with the local planning authority to obtain approval.

Broadgrove Planning and Development

This Manchester-based planning consultancy offers a UK-wide service and provides commercially focussed advice on planning applications, development plans and policy, portfolio management, appeals, expert witness, and defensive planning. It works in sectors including residential, commercial and strategic land.

Broadgrove secured planning permission for Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council to convert Gatley Hill House, a former community space, into offices. The challenge lay in converting a historic building to meet modern-day office requirements and internal and external works were needed to obtain approval.

Maxine Parker Planning Consultancy

Specialising in small residential developments, this firm offers a range of planning services for homeowners, small and medium-sized businesses, architects and developers. Maxine Parker Planning aims to guide clients through the planning process cost-effectively and efficiently and services include planning applications, appeals, site appraisals and dealing with objections. Typical schemes include building conversions, Green Belt development, change of use and small commercial projects.

When an application for extension and conversion of two stone barns in Saddleworth was refused, this firm lodged an appeal stating that the buildings were in a suitable location for residential use. The appeal was allowed and working with an architect’s firm, a scheme was designed that was sympathetic to the farm buildings’ original appearance and the Green Belt location.

The Next Stage

This article will hopefully have explained what planning consultants do, and how they can help with complicated projects facing specific challenges in achieving planning permissions. When selecting a planning consultancy, it’s important to identify a firm that has successfully worked on similar schemes to yours, whether this is a small project or a major development seeking planning permission.

Ensuring that the firm offers full planning services and is experienced in working closely with the relevant local council officers will set you on the way to getting permission granted.