Helping community groups through the planning process

I have worked in community-led housing — cohousing, community land trusts, housing co-ops, custom-build and self-build groups for many years, leading the planning process on many of TOWN’s cohousing projects including Angel Yard, Still Green and Northstowe. I understand the group dynamics and how to translate complex planning concepts into plain English.

• Site search support and feasibility advice, working with the group's wider team.

• Pre-application strategy and engagement with the local planning authority.

• Managing outline and full applications; planning statements.

• Reserved Matters and discharge of conditions.

• Section 106 negotiation, including affordable housing arrangements with Registered Providers.

• Local plan promotion and community-led housing policy work.

• Community engagement and consensus-building.

• Witness work at Examination Hearings and appeals.

Recent examples

• A portfolio of seven cohousing projects taken through the planning process with TOWN, including Angel Yard (Norwich), Still Green (Wolverton), and most recently at Northstowe near Cambridge.

• Re-negotiating affordable housing provision for a cohousing group in the West of England.

Reduced or deferred fees for community-led housing groups

Community-led housing groups promoting development proposals can ask me about reduced or deferred fees. The model is simple: we agree at the outset whether some or all of the fee is at a reduced rate, deferred until planning consent, or some combination. Putting it in a clear engagement letter at the start means we are all clear.