Frettens Solicitors and Tanner & Tilley Planning Consultants held a joint seminar at the Kings Hotel Christchurch on 23rd June which was attended by around 100 architects and local developers.
The seminar aimed to examine the latest position on the Government’s proposals to introduce ‘localism’ into planning decision making. The idea of the seminar was to see how this will affect developers, communities and the way in which Local Authorities carry out their planning functions.
The seminar gave local developers and architects the opportunity to put questions to the Local Authority as there was a guest speaker from Christchurch Borough Council, Simon Trueick. Community and Planning Policy Manager. The Authority gave the perspective of the Planning Officer and the impact on policy formulation and decision making.
Oonagh McKinney, Commercial Property Partner at Frettens Solicitors, gave an overview of how localism changes will impact on site acquisition and planning obligations and Peter Tanner, a Director at Tanner & Tilley, explained how developers can use localism to the best advantage to secure planning permissions in the face of increased community involvement in the process.
Carlie O’Neill, Business Executive at Tanner & Tilley, commented "Frettens and Tanner & Tilley regularly hold these events together in order to help our colleagues gain a better understanding of relevant planning and legal issues. The event was a great success and we even had a waiting list at one point! The feedback since the event has been really positive."
If you are a developer and need any advice on the localism bill or what it means to you then please contact Oonagh McKinney on 01202 499255.