Planning Direct

We contacted Planning Direct for advice when we took on a demolition and rebuild project in a sensitive location in a London Park. We were getting nowhere with the council. There were design, heritage, fire, access and several other issues to resolve and the council was being unhelpful and unreasonable with all of them.Andrew came out to meet us quickly and then Nikki advised on the best route to go and dealt with the council throughout. The Council refused the application (which was anticipated) and Nikki took the matter to appeal and won on all grounds!We can now build our dream family home in a wonderful location in Parkland thanks to Nikki at Planning DIrect!Very highly recommended.

I'm very happy with the great work Steve Miller did to get my planning appeal through and approved. The appeal report Steve prepared picked apart the reasons cited by the planners for refusing my application. Many thanks.

We took a gamble in using Planning direct to handle a planning issue for us, and we’re very glad we did. Our case concerned parking and container storage issues on an industrial estate we manage which the local authority were being very difficult about. Our case was handled by the excellent Elise Colombel whose professionalism, knowledge, patience and tenacity won the case for us after a lengthy battle against the council planners.Everything from communications to drafting up plans was top drawer. - I would recommend Planning direct highly.

Fantastic service from all the team at Planning Direct! They took on an ongoing planning dispute and brought it forward to a (correct!) and more than satisfactory conclusion. From the initial meeting and recommendation, and at every step of the way I was copied into all correspondence and kept informed. Highly recommended to anyone with a planning issue or need.

Jamie was so confident our planning application could be successful, following his explanation we became equally convinced and this was proven in the result, with full planning permission being granted; we knew that Planning Direct would offer the best value. During our outline planning application, Jamie was on point throughout the entire process - there were challenges along the way, but we only knew because he kept us informed throughout as our trusted advisor, resolving all issues however large or small, through use of what is clearly vast specialist knowledge and experience alongside excellent interpersonal and written communication skills. We had originally intended to leave the reserved matters (full planning) to potential buyers, but were so impressed by the service provided and the outcome during outline planning - with Jamie often going the extra mile - that we went back to him without hesitation to finish the job (full planning) with help from his team to complete the architectural designs. Our advice to anyone considering something similar is that in our opinion, planning consultants come highly recommended, they bring a lot of added value and can make the difference between a successful application and an unsuccessful one by making a strong case for you based on previous specialist experience - don't just rely on an architect although they bring their own value and are equally important for their own purpose. More specifically, we feel Planning Direct made all the difference for us and we wouldn't hesitate to work with them again or recommend to others.

We have used Planning Direct twice, first to get planning permission for a large studio/workshop in our garden, and secondly to get Class Q planning permission for two houses on our barn. Each time we found Andrew and his team professional, accessible and successful! Initially we hesitated to employ them because of the cost and the risk that the permission may still not happen - they are not cheap and they cannot guarantee results. But it soon became clear that without their highly efficient and professional input we would have been unlikely to be successful in either case. But as it is, a double tick in the boxes. Thank you very much to an excellent team. Highly recommended.

Retrospective planning - Paddock to Garden.The planning submission by Nikki @ Planning Direct was so detailed and thorough. I don't think we would have got to the same conclusion without their support.The initial guidance and advice at the start from Andy was really appreciated too.I will definitely recommend them to anyone who needs planning support in the future.

Planning Direct successfully helped me to obtain planning permission for a change of use of my commercial premises to residential. Their approach was very professional efficient, knowledgeable and cost effective. Communication was excellent and I was kept appraised at all relevant stages. Thank you to Andrew and his team - excellent!

I was recommended to Planning Direct following what could be described as ‘confusion’ by my local council over an interpretation of planning law. Although my case should technically not have got to the need for approval I decided to use professional services as it was imperative for my business that permission was granted. I was introduced to Andrew Cann who has the ability to be knowledgeable and confident about the law without being overly confusing and complicated. As this application unfolded, his approach was invaluable. What should have been a simple process was made very difficult by the council however Andrew was adamant (and told the validation officer so!) that his interpretation of the law was appropriate in our case. Despite being a reasonably competent person myself, I was very pleased that I had decided to employ Planning Directs services. End result was a successful application leaving me to get on with what I do best, run my business!If you are unsure if it is worth employing the services of planing consultants, I can relate to that. I would say while nothing is cheap, the process with Andrew is straightforward, he took time to talk to me about my business and produced a document that definitely gives a clear and decisive message to councils. With this in mind, it is worth the cost not least the peace of mind that you have knowledge, experience and common sense behind you when using them. That’s invaluable.

I do not normally provide my feedback as a client of a service provider when I have not carried out a thorough and wide ranging service review of the provider as a Chartered Accountant, a Specialist Member of the international Institute of Risk Management and a 2 term Member of its Audit & Risk Committee and also an Honorary Member of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors for my services to that discipline. However, my personal experience of the service I received from Planning Direct and its staff was exemplary in terms of client centricity, acute technical abilities, professionalism, response time and financial fairness in the provision of its services to me. I will have no hesitation in personally commissioning their services again when needed, without my obtaining comparative quotes .