Case study
How one firm aims to transform your planning prospects with a £150 report
Tim Valdar, co-founder of quick feasibility tool, MASS Reports, was presenting at Nimbus Maps to an audience of their subscribers. Investment broker Mark Potter was present and before Valdar had finished the presentation, he had ordered one of MASS’s Planning Policy Reports (£150+VAT).
Valdar explains
The application was a 2.5-acre piece of land. Its current use is equestrian grazing with a caravan in situ.
The client owns the site and has always dreamt of building a family home with acreage as gardens for his young family.
He had spoken with two local architects who he had previously worked with on other projects. The site falls in the Green Belt in Warwick and this has restrictions which both architects had said would prevent any residential development.
Our team of architects and planning specialists, based in India, proceeded with the application and trawled the internet, current policies and planning applications to understand if there was a way that in fact development was possible.
MASS produced a 15-page detailed report
After much research, we ascertained that the plot actually fell under the Land Cover Parcel (LCP) Zone in the Green Belt
LCP Council Definition: Land Cover Parcels – LCPs are defined using landscape criteria
– land cover and landform. In some cases they can be limited in size, fairly closely following the SHLAA extents, but in others they can extend some distance from the settlement edge.
This meant that development could take place if it adhered to a checklist of criteria resulting in it not affecting the landscape.
To find this information took in-depth research, but more importantly it is information that local knowledge alone did not discover.
The next step was to find comparables and precedents in the area or similar areas so that we could understand how successful applications have been submitted. From there we could put our case together.
We found that five houses had just been granted permission on the golf course, local to the site, which also fell under Green Belt and also fell under the LCP Zone.
Having reported back to the client in three days, we are now putting together their dream home application in a very similar manner to the existing successful application.
Mark Potter, land owner and investment broker, said: “MASS Reports has totally changed our land. We can now look at planning our home. They are filling the gap by showing us how and why something works and, in the process, finding gems of information that back up our application. Brilliant bit of kit.”
Other reports are available in the products range
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