Christmas has come early for one of our clients, in the guise of a successful planning appeal.
When approached with a recently purchased site with planning permission for 2 new dwellings, our client was looking to simplify the building massings to make the houses more cost effective to build. As with all schemes we took a ‘carte blanche’ approach to see how we could maximize the opportunities for them.
Whilst maximizing commercial values is always a consideration, it does not take precedence over providing buildings that respond sensitively to their surroundings, accommodate the amenity of neighbors and provide interesting spaces for living and working in.
The original approval was for 2 new dwellings, but with a carefully considered design solution we felt that we had given due deference to all the above concerns and still been able to DOUBLE the number of houses on the site to 4. Sadly the planning department did not agree with us. Through discussions with our associate planning consultant, we were content that our scheme was justified on it’s merits and our client was happy to allow a refusal with the intention to appeal.
Needless to say the developer was very happy when the appeal was granted approval and caused a large uplift in the land value, giving them a springboard to continued business development and providing much needed family homes in a highly sustainable location. It was also gratifying to find that on every point that we had argued with the planning department, the planning inspectorate was of the same view as ourselves, to the extent whereby their report was a close reflection of our previous correspondence with the planning department.
This goes to show once again that having the right team in place is the best way to ensure substantial returns on your investment.
Whether you have 2 sites this Christmas or no sites, have a great time – “God bless us, every one!”
Update – The houses have now been built, Click here to view them in our portfolio