DLBP Ltd

DLBP is a leading (top-50) UK town planning consultancy, established in London since 2010. We advise on town planning requirements, then implement that advice, typically through preparing planning applications and securing planning permission.

We provide advice and support that takes away the uncertainty of town planning risk.

CITY OF LONDON OFFICE

Pinnacle House
23-26 St Dunstan’s Hill
London EC3R 8HN
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 3713 8500
contact@dlbp.uk

Also now open in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
www.dlbp.us

 

DLBP is delighted to have been a finalist for Property Consultant of the Year at the LaingBuisson Awards 2023; Small Planning Consultancy of the Year at the RTPI London Awards for Planning Excellence 2023; and Planning Consultancy of the Year at the Planning Awards 2023.

 

Our Track Record

We Deliver Certainty

We are town planning consultants, who are dedicated to helping our clients realise their property development visions, advocating for their projects and making them a reality through collaboration, creativity and taking responsibility for delivering our clients’ instructions.

We have a track record of hundreds of projects, with planning permission secured in 97% of cases.

Our flexible approach allows for a highly personalised planning advice service which can react quickly to client and project needs.

We have high-profile long-term current clients, such as Royal Hospital Chelsea, Columbia Threadneedle, Patron Capital (Hamberley Development), Care UK, Jewish Care, Artemis Land and Agriculture, Ramsbury Manor Foundation, Upspace, Salon Privé, Treasure House Fair and Leap24.

We are trusted by property owners and developers, both large and small, institutions, individuals, often high profile, as well as those wishing to protect their property assets.

We specialise in providing town planning advice for:

Elderly care/senior living - Changing demographics and a wider recognition of the importance of accommodation for older people is making this an increasingly notable sector we work in.

  • We have secured planning permission for over 2,584 care and nursing bedrooms at 28 sites across England and Wales, making DLBP the leading planning consultancy for securing planning permission for elderly care and nursing homes.  

  • Since January 2021 alone we have achieved planning consent for 1,027 care and nursing bedrooms (Use Class C2).  DLBP also has 821 new care and nursing bedrooms in the pipeline to be determined or submitted in the coming months. 

  • We have an in-depth understanding of the care sector and the deficiencies of existing care stock, as well as the Care Quality Commission and operator-specific requirements which influence the siting, layout and design of a care/nursing home.  It is this in-depth understanding that allows us to maximise the prospects of success in achieving consents for high-quality care accommodation that is fit-for-purpose, allowing elderly people to continue living dignified lives in their local communities, close to their families.

High value new homes via extensions, infill and conversions – DLBP has secured permission or local plan allocations for over 6,000 new homes.  We have been at the forefront of airspace development as well as office to residential conversions. Our team are adept at negotiating and advising on the intricacies of the planning challenges raised by these types of sites. 

Green belt and country homes – DLBP has a deep understanding of policies relating to development in the green belt and countryside and has deployed inventive strategies to secure additional properties and floorspace despite these restrictive designations.

Temporary events – DLBP has the speed and flexibility to quickly secure planning permissions and advertisement consents for large-scale temporary events.  Over our 13 years in business, we have secured 138,500 sq m of floorspace and regularly advise on updates and amendments to recurring events (including the best way of securing changes and discharging planning conditions). 

New villages and urban quarters – the team at DLBP has extensive experience securing planning permission for new villages and urban quarters, through both planning applications (and appeals) and through the plan making process. The team have worked on proposals from 100 – 5,000 new homes, often with commercial and other uses.

Our experience

Through 13 years of business in London, we have served and continue to serve a wide range of blue-chip clients and have been responsible for the delivery of many hundreds of planning permissions.

We prepare and facilitate all planning documentation, evidence and applications, including any appeals. We provide an after-care service through construction and/or sale, to ensure town planning compliance is fully documented and to deal with changes or additions as the project progresses. 

Services we provide include:

 

Town Planning:

Achieving planning permission is a complex process. We work with our clients to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible by staying up to date with local and national planning and development regulations.

Temporary event permissions:

We help our clients to secure permission and advertisement consent for recurring large-scale temporary events ranging from flagship car shows to world class art fairs in prestigious locations.

Consultant management:

We work hand-in-hand with other disciplines such as architects, landscape architects, master planners, transport planners, engineers, ecologists, archaeologists, historic building advisors, and other technical consultants to make certain the project requirements are being met. When the client brings in another consultant, our team makes sure to bring them up to speed and provide them with all necessary information they need to complete their work. And when necessary, we can recommend professionals we have worked with in the past; reputable professionals who we trust.

Due diligence and feasibility research:

When our clients come to us with a vision for their project, our first step is to conduct a site appraisal, consisting of a policy review and researching the planning history of the site to establish the feasibility of the project and its prospects for success. We use this research to develop a strategy for our clients to achieve their vision or to suggest alternative schemes which would likely have a greater prospect of success for the site in question.

Public engagement:

We represent our clients at public hearings and community meetings where necessary, especially for larger and more controversial schemes, advocating for schemes right through from initial consultation to approval. We ensure all stakeholders are kept abreast of changes and updates and that they understand any project implications.

 
 

Testimonials

"Dominic Lawson Bespoke Planning truly live up to the 'bespoke' in their name. They provide a highly focused, efficient and responsive service which combines sound strategy with careful attention to detail, delivered by people who really know and care about what they are doing; they are as far from a soulless corporate machine as one can get. I enjoy working with them hugely and am very impressed by them. Every member of the team is first class and Dominic is an excellent expert witness. I cannot recommend them too highly. I commend them to you." - Christopher Katkowski KC, Kings Chambers.

“Thank you all so much for your determination to see this across the line on behalf of the Royal Hospital and Salon Privé.” - Nicky Mott MBE, CWIFM, MCMI, Director Estates, Facilities (Quartermaster) at Royal Hospital Chelsea.

"Such welcome news and thank you for all of the support (and teaching) you have given to me over the past 5/6 months.  It is a great relief to have this approval." - Masterpiece.

“I was very impressed with your comprehensive, diligent and knowledgeable approach.” - Private Client.

“Throughout, I found you great to work with: very easy and open exchange of ideas, never felt rushed, great suggestions and quality of writing, always available and responsive.” - Private Client.

“This is awesome and great news, which I wasn’t expecting so is even better news.  Many thanks for your work on this.” - Hamberley Development and Hamberley Care Homes.

LATEST NEWS

 
 

Our Commitment

We hold ourselves accountable for our social, environmental, and economic impacts on the people and places we operate and commit to always operating in a responsible manner.

We also work in a such a way which assists our clients in achieving their own commitments.

We aim to reduce our impact on the environment in our day-to-day operations and work with our clients to put forward schemes which minimise any negative environmental impacts, whilst having a positive social impact on the built environment.

Our continued commitment includes DLBP becoming a carbon neutral company.

Our local community is important to us, and we take each opportunity to engage with and make positive contributions to our area, such as providing local jobs and being a good neighbour.

Our Senior Team

DOMINIC LAWSON
Chairman

BSc(Hons) DipTP(Dist) MBA(Dist) MRTPI

+44 (0)20 3713 8500

dominiclawson@dlbp.uk

 

As the Chairman and President of DLBP, Dominic leads the DLBP team of urban planning and zoning specialists, advising real estate owners, developers, investors, and funders on how to get things built in complex and challenging contexts. Dominic founded DLBP in London, UK, in 2010, and expanded to Atlanta, GA, in 2023, where he is currently establishing DLBP’s presence and growing its client base.

Dominic achieved an MBA with Distinction from Trinity College Dublin in 2023.

  • With over 25 years of experience in the field of land use and development, Dominic has a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes for hundreds of projects, ranging from individual homes to whole new towns and urban regeneration schemes. Dominic is passionate about creating planned communities that are sustainable, livable, and respectful of their heritage and environment.

    Dominic has an MBA (Masters in Business Administration, with Distinction) from Trinity College Dublin, and a BSc(Hons) and a postgraduate Diploma (with Distinction), both in City and Regional Planning from Cardiff University.

    Prior to founding DLBP, Dominic was a Partner at leading UK property consultancy Montagu Evans (until 2010), an Associate at another leading UK firm David Lock Associates (until 2004), a Senior Regeneration Consultant at prominent non-profit campaign group the Civic Trust (until 2001), and a Planning Officer at the London Borough of Brent (until 1998).

ANDREW RYLEY
Director of planning

BA(Hons) MSc MRTPI

+44 (0)7833 290 753

andrewryley@dlbp.uk

 

Andrew joined DLBP in 2018 as a Director of Planning. Alongside Matthew Johnson, he is responsible for providing town planning advice to our clients, devising and agreeing planning strategy, and implementing that strategy, to help our clients to secure planning permission/compliance for their projects/assets.

Andrew also provides leadership to DLBP’s junior staff, ensuring they are able to grow their knowledge while best serving our clients and their planning needs.

  • He also acts as an expert planning witness at public inquiries.

    Andrew has been a full chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute since 2009. He holds a BA(Hons) (2004) in Geography from Coventry University and a postgraduate MSc (2007) in Spatial Planning from Oxford Brookes University.

    Prior to joining DLBP, Andrew was an Associate Director at planning consultancy DLP Planning (until 2018), a Principal Planning Officer at the London Borough of Enfield (until 2014), a Senior Planner at the London Borough of Harrow (until 2013), Senior Development Management Officer at West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (until 2010), and a Planning Officer at East Northamptonshire District Council (from 2004 to 2007).

MATTHEW JOHNSON
Director of planning

BSc(Hons) MA(Dist) MRTPI

+44 (0)7917 763785

matthewjohnson@dlbp.uk

 

Matthew joined DLBP in 2012 as a graduate and, after showing exceptional commitment, was appointed as a Director of Planning in January 2018. Matthew is responsible for providing planning advice directly to clients to assist them in securing planning permission for their assets. He does this by devising and agreeing tailored planning strategies, and then project managing the detailed implementation of these strategies.  

  • Matthew has a particular focus on projects where there are competing policy objectives, difficult planning histories or significant constraints.

    His personal highlights during his time at DLBP include preparing an outline planning application for 400 homes and up to 1,049,500 sq ft / 97,500 sq m of commercial floorspace, and securing a Local Plan policy to support further future growth, at Kent Science Park.

    Matthew was vital in securing planning permission, via an appeal inquiry, for up to 300 new homes within a County Wildlife Site in Norwich and a mixed-use urban development on the site of a locally listed former Police Station in Eastleigh, Hampshire, close to the M3, M27 and Southampton Airport.

    He also secured planning permission and listed building consent for the Ramsbury Manor Foundation’s proposals for a new exhibition centre and estate yard in the setting of the Grade I listed Ramsbury Manor.

    Being a full chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute since 2018, Matthew holds a BSc(Hons) (2012) in City & Regional Planning from Cardiff University, and an MA (with Distinction) (2015) in Urban & Regional Planning from the University of Westminster.

 

AMY PATERSON
Associate Director

BA(Hons) MA MRTPI

+44 (0)7557 262724

amypaterson@dlbp.uk

Amy Paterson has been an Associate Director since February 2023, having joined DLBP in October 2019 and being promoted three times in the interim. This followed the completion of her Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) accredited Master’s Degree in Cities and Global Development from the University of Sheffield.

Her role includes:
- being the project lead on major planning applications for 60+ bedroom care homes, as well as changes of use, lawful development certificates, prior approvals, discharge of conditions, non-material amendments, and minor-material amendments applications;

  • - leading large consultant teams (including architects, public relation advisers, ecologists, drainage engineers, landscape architects, lighting specialists, and economic advisors) and implementing project programmes to ensure that projects are delivered without delay;

    - assisting King’s Counsel, DLBP Directors and the witness team during appeal hearing and inquiries and cross examination;

    - writing detailed site appraisals, Planning Statements, Statements of Community Involvement, Heritage Statements, Pre-Application Briefings;

    - dealing with the day-to-day client queries about large-scale housing developments, and preparing strategy notes about how to overcome complex planning issues;

    - leading and chairing meetings with clients, project teams and Councils;

    - liaising with Councils from pre-application stage through to determination, understanding matters raised, setting out recommendations to the client and co-ordinating agreed actions;

    - advising on enforcement issues;

    - engaging in Local Plan and Neighbourhood Plan making-processes;

    - organising and attending public consultation events;

    - line managing and mentoring multiple junior members of staff to help expand their planning knowledge and also improve efficiencies with time management; and

    - preparing detailed fee proposals, including proposing strategies, identifying clear scopes of work to achieve the client’s goal, and setting out clear costs associated with the work.

JACK ALLENBY
Principal Planner

BA(Hons) MA(Dist) MRTPI

+44 (0)7557 990131

jackallenby@dlbp.uk

Jack Allenby joined DLBP in September 2020 and has been a Principal Planner since April 2023.

Jack has a real thirst for knowledge and a drive to achieve results.  This has led him to develop a range of skills and experiences across many areas of the planning process and development sectors.  He is also highly motivated and organised which allows him to successfully manage numerous key projects at any one time, often leading large teams of external consultants to great effect.  Jack is passionate about business management and finance matters too so has been, and will continue to be, an integral part of the DLBP’s growing team.

  • Jack studied Geography at Queen Mary University of London, where he achieved a First-Class Honours Bachelors degree in September 2020. In his final year, Jack wrote to DLBP requesting work experience before committing to a Masters in a planning-related subject. Following this, Jack successfully applied to study Spatial Planning at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, where he achieved a First-Class Honours Masters degree in September 2021.

    Alongside his Masters studies, Jack began his career at DLBP working on a part-time basis as an Assistant Planner. Jack has since progressed internally at a phenomenal rate, moving from Planner to Senior Planner within a year, and then on to Principal Planner. Jack was elected as a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute in February 2024.

ANTHONY GAJADHARSINGH
Non-executive Director

ACIS

Anthony is a transformational business leader, having extensive expertise in business development and strategic planning. Anthony provides strategic guidance to DLBP in its business operations.

In 2017, Anthony founded Greene Lawson Advisors, Ltd, a business consulting firm that provides M&A and strategic business planning advice to U.S. private equity firms focused on acquiring industrial automation targets.

  • As lead advisor at the firm, Anthony has advised over 100 targets in the range of $100 million to $2.0 billion annual revenue. Prior to founding Greene Lawson Advisors, Anthony served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Company Secretary for Dematic Group SARL, a then $3bn logistics automation provider, in Luxembourg and the UK.

    Anthony also served in numerous senior executive roles for Invensys plc, a FTSE 100 company, being promoted from Vice President of Strategic Projects to Senior VP of Corporate Development (in Chicago) to Senior Vice President of Strategy and Planning and eventually to Chief of Staff of the Group. He was also Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee of the £4.5bn Invensys Pension Scheme.

    In 2010 Anthony stood for the UK Parliament as a candidate for the Labour Party and was for four years Chairman of the Trustees of The Peter Tatchell Foundation, a leading UK based human rights charity.

Case Study Catalogue

Global Champions Tour London

Farnborough, Hampshire

Spitalfields Works

Adderbury, Oxfordshire

Soane Stable Block

Sevenoaks

West End, Surrey

Little Bookham, Surrey

Kent Science Park

Ascot, Berkshire

Eastleigh

Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation

Chichester

South Terrace, Chelsea

Armstrong House

Dulwich

Barbican listed apartment

Herts green belt

North Cheam

Masterpiece, Chelsea

Courtenay Avenue, Highgate

Lloyds Court, Milton Keynes

Banstead

Dance School, Westminster

Redhill, Surrey

Exmouth Market, London

Country home, Bedfordshire

Green belt country home, London

Tooting house, London

St Albans

St Pancras Hospital

Totteridge

Leeds Landmark

Leeds Review

Clonburris, Dublin

Silvertown Tunnel

Batt’s Ford Bridge

Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets

Fentiman Road

Brew Dog, Dalston

Twickenham,
Greater London

Central Milton Keynes Town Council

Coburg Crescent

Lincoln City Centre

Lexham Mews

Furnival Street

 

Employees and Careers

We aspire to have the best team around and work hard with all our team members to help them deliver their personal goals. The success of the DLBP is built on the quality of our people, they are committed to the success of our clients.

We encourage on the job training through exposure to interesting and challenging work and key projects, providing opportunities for our staff to advance within DLBP through personal growth, internal progression and promotion. We invest in our people’s technical and business skills. For example, we conduct regular continued professional development both in person and virtually and host an annual trip to a global city which has demonstrated excellence in planning.  

Since 2010 we have stood and always will stand in condemnation of discrimination in the workplace. We are committed to creating a diverse employment environment and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment regardless of race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status.

Current Career Opportunities

We are continuing to expand our London office and we have just hired two additional staff in September 2023. We continue to seek further staff for a start date in Q4 2023, in particular:

  1. Planner - a recent graduate or a couple of years experience. Salary £30k-£35k.

  2. Associate Director - a more senior person looking to lead projects, lead teams and lead on making sure we respond to our clients’ needs. Salary £54k-£80k.

Location: our beautiful office in the City of London.

We are looking for people who:

- are bright, motivated, professional, positive attitude;

- have and/or want to obtain demonstrable experience of challenging planning projects, including meeting or exceeding expectations;

- are looking to progress to a more senior role with greater responsibilities;

- are commercial, with knowledge of how to deliver excellent client service;

- have and/or want to develop a strong network in the real estate/property industry, including client and consultant contacts, and a plan of how to develop new business with support from the DLBP team; and

- are friendly, hardworking and happy.

What we offer:

- discretionary performance-related bonuses;

- office hours of 35 hours per week, with normal working hours being 9.30am – 5.30pm;

- 25 days annual leave per year, plus bank holidays and office closure between Christmas and New Year;

- company MacBook and iPhone;

- free office breakfast and lunch;

- annual study trip abroad (e.g. July 2023 trip was to Beaune, France);

- annual Christmas event;

- payment of RTPI / RICS membership fees;

- a programme of tailored continuing professional development via our in-house DLBP Learning Programme, and external paid courses;

- pension contributions;

- private health insurance;

- no limits to progression;

- work with and in support of our Atlanta team (including opportunities to travel to the Atlanta office);

- a team of hardworking and friendly people, who are interested in planning and places;

- opportunities to work and learn directly from our Chairman and four Directors of Planning;

- breadth of projects / variety of work;

- a mix of institutional and entrepreneurial clients and the ability for all team members including junior staff to have client exposure from an early stage.

If you are interested, please email Dominic Lawson dominiclawson@dlbp.uk - we look forward to hearing from you.