Consultation is inherently flawed: all have the same failing – by relying on residents to respond there is usually low participation, and those that do respond often have an axe to grind. The result is a skewed representation of community views which does not stand up to any level of …

Parliament returned early, on 2 September, so that the new government could get on with legislation. It rose again on 12 September for the party conferences, to return on 7 October. There has been hardly a day gone by during September without yet another announcement from the government on planning …

MHCLG has announced the new ministerial team tasked with ‘getting Britain building again’ and delivering on government’s ambition to see 1.5 million homes built over the next five years. The freshly renamed department is key to delivering the government’s mission to boost economic growth by speeding up the delivery of …

Senior Consultant Dan is currently a Senior Lecturer in Planning and course leader for the Property Development and Planning course at Oxford Brookes University, and a former councillor in Oxfordshire. As a councillor he has 25 years of experience in local government as a Town Councillor in Bicester for 24 …

Senior Consultant Chris was a Liberal Democrat county and district councillor for over 30 years, most recently leader of St Albans District Council and chair of its Planning Policy & Climate Committee. He has considerable experience in local plan making and planning policy in general. He stepped down from St …

Consultant Patrick is a communications and marketing consultant with more than 20 years of property industry experience and a track record of delivering strategic campaigns that influence key stakeholders and deliver commercial results. He brings a wealth of experience to Chelgate having worked for numerous housebuilders, institutional investors, and professional …

Welcome to our New Year 2024 issue of Planning ahead.  We enter 2024 with some trepidation: the economy is in the doldrums, we have the NPPF reforms and the prospect of a General Election, probably in the autumn. There is too much uncertainty which no one likes. At Chelgate Local, we finished …

The secretary of state, Michael Gove MP, has said he wants to see local communities involved more in planning policy and planning application decisions. This brought a sharp intake of breath from developers and councillors alike as most communities appear opposed to anything to do with development. This is because …