Case study: Masterpiece London at the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Masterpiece London at the Royal Hospital Chelsea

Location: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Issue: Masterpiece, an annual arts and antiques fair held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, had a number of planning conditions that required the submission of further information to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

How we helped: 

We reviewed the planning permission for Masterpiece, including the approved plans and supporting documents. We identified which conditions required the submission of further information, and we co-ordinated the appointment and management of other consultants to provide the specific technical information required by the conditions. We then reviewed all of the documents required, prepared our own supporting letter and submitted the application to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council (all on behalf of the client).

We liaised with the application case officer throughout the determination process, dealing with any issues raised by the Council’s planning officers.

Outcome: 

No comments were raised by the Council, and we secured approval of the submitted information three weeks earlier than the statutory decision period allowing the client to start work earlier.

Get in touch with us on 020 3713 8500 or contact@dominiclawson.co.uk if you have a planning query concerning a temporary event or other development.

Design Brighton

DLBP is proud to be a part of Design Brighton, a new festival running in October 2019 encouraging investment and tourism in Brighton, founded by Cowell Consulting Group and Stickland Wright architects and interiors firm.

Brighton is known for its unique and vibrant urban design, and so Design Brighton aims to promote Brighton as a world-class urban design centre. The festival will showcase a variety of local businesses, designers, and other stakeholders, who will host events promoting Brighton and their services. 

Between 16 October 2018 and 20 October 2019, a series of events will be held in some of Brighton’s most famous buildings highlighting the past, present and future of this vibrant city. 

During the festival, there will be design workshops, walking tours of Brighton, panel discussions and talks, as well as exhibitions and networking opportunities. 

DLBP will be hosting an exciting event in the iconic i360 building on Brighton’s coast, discussing the relationship between planning and design. 

Stay tuned to find out more about DLBP’s involvement.

The Appeal Process

At DLBP, we have a strong track record in taking applications to appeal and winning.  As planning becomes ever more politically sensitive, local authorities are more and more likely to refuse applications even where the planning case is strong and well-made.

We have established relationships with some of the leading planning silks at the English bar, and with a wide range of leading expert witnesses. We also provide our own planning expert witness service.

The Planning Inspectorate deals with a wide range of issues including planning appeals, national infrastructure planning applications and examinations of local plans across England and Wales.

Based in both Bristol and Cardiff, the Planning Inspectorate have approximately 700 members of staff who make decisions, and provide recommendations and advice on a range of planning-related issues.

A Local Planning Authority will either approve or refuse a planning application.  If an application is refused, you can appeal the decision to the Planning Inspectorate or if a decision for an application is not given within the determination period (8 or 13 weeks) you can appeal against non-determination of the application.

To make an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, this will need to be submitted through the Appeals Casework Portal. The following documents will need to be submitted:

• the complete pack of documents submitted with the original application;

• the site ownership certificate;

• the local planning authority’s decision notice – if they did not make a decision, submit a copy of the letter acknowledging your application;

• all plans, drawings and documents you sent to the local planning authority; and

• your statement of case including any other documentation to support your appeal.

• There are three different planning appeal procedures you can follow which are listed in the table below. When submitting an appeal, the appellant requests which procedure they would like to follow. If this is agreed by the Council then the requested procedure is followed, however, if not agreed by the Council, it is up to the Inspector as to which procedure should be followed.

The most up-to-date appeal procedures can be found at this link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appeals-average-timescales-for-arranging-inquiries-and-hearingsand below.

DLBP’s Thoughts on the Draft NPPF

DLBP attended the National Planning Summit 2018 on Thursday 10 May at the ILEC Conference Centre in London. Topics for discussion included the review of the Community Infrastructure Levy, the Draft London Plan and also the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

We agree with Professor Christine Whitehead of the Government’s Build-out Review Panel – the Letwin Review – who told the Summit that a “very large proportion” of the problem of why planning permissions fail to be built out is an over-reliance on large housing sites. Ms Whitehead added that “between 2008 and 2014, over 50% of permissions were on large sites, and five per cent of the output was on large sites”.

DLBP believes that Councils need a much more nimble and responsive approach to allocating small and medium size sites that can assist with meeting short-term problems with five year land supply.

Please see our thoughts below on the draft NPPF, on behalf of the Gracechurch Group.

DLBP secure permission for new building at Royal Hospital Chelsea

The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a classic institution with a rich history and architectural legacy.  Home to the Chelsea Pensioners, the Royal Hospital Chelsea supports veterans of the British Army with accommodation and comradeship. We are delighted to have secured planning permission for a new building at this iconic site, as well as securing the refurbishment of the listed Soane Stable Block, Guardhouse and Bakehouse buildings. 

During the pre-application process we obtained a positive response from the local authority regarding the massing and volume of the new building. We then managed a second pre-application where we submitted a further detailed design in line with our client’s objectives, taking careful consideration of the historical significance of the site.

Following this, management of the Planning Performance Agreement was key. We liaised with our architects, Peregrine Bryant, the local authority, Historic England, and the team of technical consultants to ensure that all elements of the planning application were thoroughly prepared, addressing any issues as they occurred. As a result, we were able to secure this permission first time, through a delegated decision and fulfil our client’s objectives, delivering a very valuable addition to the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

Greenbelt Policy Pressures

England’s 14 greenbelts make up approximately 13% of the land in the country totalling around 1.6 million hectares. In contrast to this, the built-up area only totals around 9%.

However, there is an ever-increasing pressure for further housing and infrastructure to be built on greenbelt land.

Greenbelts were enshrined in law by the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947. According to paragraphs 80 and 81 of the National Planning Policy Framework, the greenbelt serves five purposes:

• To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas;

• To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;

• To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;

• To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns;

• To assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.

Protection of the greenbelt is a highly sensitive area for the Government. Both Prime Minister Theresa May and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government – Sajid Javid – are among many Conservative MPs whose constituencies contain greenbelt land and pressure to build more housing. The party has made protection of the greenbelt a manifesto commitment, but has also pledged to tackle the housing crisis.

In the Housing White Paper (2017) it set out amended policy relating to greenbelt land stating that: “We propose to amend national policy to make clear that authorities should amend greenbelt boundaries only when they can demonstrate that they have examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting their identified development requirements” (source: Housing White Paper 2017). This approach has been included in the draft national planning policy framework which is currently out to consultation.

There will always be arguments both for and against development on greenbelt sites, with one side claiming that the increase in development is reducing Britain’s natural environment, while the other argues that the increase in development still means that only a small fraction of the country is urbanised while boosting the number of new homes built across the country.

What is undeniable is that the UK requires 300,000 homes a year to be built and the greenbelt should be considered a viable solution to help deliver this aim.

Watch out for further thoughts on this subject from the Gracechurch Group – a collective that DLBP is a part of.

DLBP win appeal for major housing scheme in Thornbury

In May 2018, DLBP worked on another successful appeal against a decision to refuse a major housing scheme, our second success in a year.  Please see the link to the appeal decision, and the coverage in the Planner, here: https://www.theplanner.co.uk/decision/appeal-green-light-for-‘speculative’-350-home-gloucestershire-scheme.

Working with Mark Lowe QC, Julian Cooper of SLR and Graeme Phillips of JTP, our team put forward the argument that this was yet another example of a Council seeking to fight off a good quality, sustainable development when it has an urgent need to provide new homes, or, as Mark Lowe QC put it, expressing “an inarticulate snarl” against speculative development.

The people of South Gloucestershire will now benefit from 350 new homes, including 123 affordable homes, bringing economic benefits to the town of Thornbury.  The inspector gave particular weight to the provision of affordable homes “which would help promote a balanced community as sought by the Framework”.

At DLBP, we believe in fighting hard for the right development in the right places, and so we are delighted that, with our excellent team, we have contributed to yet another successful development.

DLBP Shortlisted for Planning Permission of the Year at the Planning Awards 2018

DLBP successfully obtained full planning permission for a unique care facility at the site on Coburg Crescent in the London Borough of Lambeth in January 2018.

We are delighted to announce that this project has been shortlisted for Planning Permission of the Year at the Planning Awards 2018.

This Resource Centre will serve adults with learning disabilities, including profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), promoting choice and control and fostering a sense of community with the Palace Road Estate.  The Resource Centre will provide a day service with therapy spaces, long and short term accommodation, a garden and community facilities to achieve this aspiration which would be expected to create jobs that could benefit local residents, including those with disabilities.

The day service in the Resource Centre will benefit people with PMLD and complex needs. This development is of vital need to the community as the current day service building is over 25 years old and cannot meet the increasing needs of its users. The new facilities at Coburg Crescent will allow the service to support the needs of its users as well as promoting their independence.

The centre includes therapy rooms, supported living accommodation, landscaped areas, a cafe, a community room and a shop which improve the physical, environmental, economic and social well-being of the users, as well as for the wider community in the Palace Road Estate.

People with PMLD have been isolated and marginalised in society. Their care is mostly provided away from their homes, especially where they need residential care or respite support for their families which reduces their ability to choose and control how and where their support is delivered.  The new Resource Centre will serve Lambeth residents such as ‘AM’ and ‘PS’.  AM is a 66 year old man who has a learning disability, Downs Syndrome, dementia, cerebral atrophy, a mild mitral valve regurgitation, and reduced vision and hearing. PS is a 51 year old woman who has a severe learning disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and uses a wheelchair to mobilise.  PS requires support in all domains of life, and without this her well-being would be at critical risk.

By providing the Resource Centre at Lambeth, residents such as AM and PS will receive the continued care and support they need, and the added benefits of a specially designed space will improve their quality of life. The provision of the cafe and shop as an integral part of the development means that service users will have access to training opportunities which may support their chances of gaining employment.

The design of the facility responds to the needs of these service users whilst also supporting integration with the local community, who have been consulted in detail throughout the planning process.  The planning challenge has been to make the building affordable, whilst meeting the requirements for sustainability, including being able to demonstrate BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) excellence.

The Resource Centre will reflect Lambeth Council’s commitments to ensure:

• People are healthier for longer.

• Vulnerable children and adults get support and protection.

• Older, disabled and vulnerable people can live independently and have control over their lives.

By achieving this consent, much needed facilities will be provided for Lambeth’s most vulnerable residents. DLBP are very proud to have played a part in securing the future of such a worthwhile and life changing scheme.