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Tel: 01692 652266  Email: info@davidwill.co.uk

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Planning (continued)

Flood Risk Assessments

Local authorities now take the potential for flooding very seriously when considering giving permission for development.  It is increasingly common for local authorities to require information on the flood risk status of a site when a planning application is made.  If the site is identified as being at increased risk from flooding then specialist reports will be required and it may be necessary to design alleviation measures to enable development to take place.

We can advise you on flood risks and we can act for you in providing flood risk assessments and alleviation measures. back

Environmental Impact Assessments

If your development proposal falls within the definition of a ‘Schedule 1’ development then you will need to follow the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure.  If it falls within the definition of a ‘Schedule 2’ development then you may be required to follow the procedure if the development is judged likely to have ‘significant environmental impacts’. 

The EIA procedure aims to prevent, reduce and offset any adverse environmental impacts and although anything but simple the procedure can be simply described as a two-stage process:

The first stage is undertaken by the developer and broadly requires consultation, data collection and environmental studies to identify the environmental effects and when negative effects are predicted the incorporation of mitigation measures into the development design.  All of this work is then reported in an Environmental Statement.

The second stage is the evaluation by the local authority of the work undertaken in the first stage.  The local authority can require further information from the developer, undertake its own consultations, both with specialist services and with the public.

As can immediately be seen, meeting the requirements of the EIA procedure can be a major cost at the planning application stage and wrongly handled can result in the development being refused.  We can advise you on whether your development is likely to be identified as a ‘Schedule 1’ or ‘Schedule 2’ development by the local authority and negotiate that decision on your behalf. We can also advise on or undertake the EIA procedure on your behalf. back

Planning Gain Negotiations

Planning ‘gain’ is the name given to the financial payment demanded from a developer by a local authority as a requirement of granting a planning permission.  This is increasingly common and increasingly expensive and in some circumstances can make development financially unviable.

We can negotiate on your behalf to minimise the cost of financial contributions and in some circumstances to remove them entirely. back

Agricultural Occupancy

Houses built under a special permission because they were needed to provide accommodation for farm workers are often restricted by an ‘agricultural occupancy’ condition.  This condition means that the house can only be occupied by those who meet that condition.  If the house is occupied by people who do not meet that condition they may be prosecuted.

We can advise you on the effect of these restriction, whether you will meet that condition and what the possible consequences would be.  We can also act for you to remove agricultural occupancy restrictions. back