Planning
Examples of our recent work include:
Arora International
Advising Arora International on a new hotel and grandstand at the Brit Oval Cricket Ground where consent was successfully secured. There was a lengthy call-in inquiry after the Health and Safety Executive intervened by objecting to the proximity of the development to the existing, famous gas holders. We oversaw the professional team and directed the planning strategy. It was hailed as a "test case" and the first time the Secretary of State issued a direction requiring evidence to be heard in camera.
Capel Parish Council
Quashed policies of the adopted Surrey Waste Plan where the authority had purported to allocate a site in Capel village for a new waste incinerator. We demonstrated that the authority’s decision making process was flawed as to justify a wholesale quashing of the allocation policy (and related planning consents).
Goodman International
Advising Goodman International on the proposed expansion (around 45,000 sqm) of Birmingham Business Park. The principal challenge is securing a consent notwithstanding its location within the Green Belt.
Millhouse Developments, Persimmon Homes and Barratt Homes
Quashing the affordable housing policy of the adopted Blyth Valley Core Strategy, hailed by many commentators as a landmark judgment, in the Court of Appeal. The case has significant implications for assessing the viability of delivering affordable housing in the context of residential schemes and included an important ruling from the Court that the presumption of soundness in PPS12 (December 2004) was unlawful.
Peel Airports
Advising Peel Airports on obtaining planning permission for the proposed expansion of Durham Tees Valley Airport, including an extension to the existing terminal to accommodate three million passengers per year and a significant new business park. We directed a large professional team and settled a detailed S106 Agreement, securing a consent without the need for a public inquiry.
Stobart Air Limited
Advising Stobart Air Limited on securing planning permission for the proposed expansion of Carlisle Airport, including the relocation of the internationally renowned Eddie Stobart freight and distribution operation to the Airport. Consent was secured without the need for a public inquiry, which represented a considerable cost and time saving for our client who was under significant pressure to relocate its freight operation as soon as possible.
Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes
Advising Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes on a proposed new neighbourhood of up to 1,900 dwellings on the North East Sector, Crawley. To date, this matter has involved two lengthy public inquiries and two successful claims (by our clients) in the High Court. We worked with leading counsel in settling detailed evidence from a large team of experts.
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