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What We Do
Stefano Smith Planning offers consultancy advice to clients in the planning of cities, towns and their neighbourhoods, including town centres, mixed use cultural quarters, waterfronts and residential areas, as well as rural areas and villages. We are a professional planning and development consultancy, dedicated to responding to client aspirations and delivering an exceptional level of professional service across all spectrums of development.
We aim to offer our clients informed, technically excellent and commercially astute solutions. We continuously evolve what we do, and focus our energy and investment so that our services match the needs of our clients and adapt to the changing economic, technical and policy environment in which we operate.
Development Life Cycle
We work across the development lifecycle. We are ‘hands-on’ and provide continuous advice at all stages of the planning and development process. From the earliest stages we support our clients in turning visions into reality.
Pre-development
From site assessments through public and stakeholder engagement to development appraisals, economic assessments, enabling works…we work with our clients from the very earliest stage.
Planning
We are evidence based, creative, innovative and practical. We promote and guide development projects through every stage of the planning process. Our advice and evidence inform planning policy; we create regeneration strategies and develop Action Plans that guide their delivery. We know what works and what doesn’t. We advise developers, landowners, businesses, homeowners and public authorities on strategy, delivery, infrastructure funding and viability.
Construction
We advise our clients on purification of planning conditions and monitor construction against any conditional planning permission to safeguard against any risk of potential enforcement action. We can act as the client’s ‘planning’ eyes and ears during the construction process.
Operation
We are committed to ensuring our clients get the most from their development project. We work with a number of our clients on their total estates; advising on small refurbishment works to total portfolio assessments that take us back to pre-development site assessments and development feasibilities.
“I have commissioned Stefano in the past in my role as Redrow’s Planning Manager to provide a planning consultancy service for a couple of projects in connection with site promotion: one a Local Plan Inquiry; the other the early stages of a Local Plan representation. I have found him to be a dedicated and committed individual to getting the job done thoroughly. His strengths are his ability to work in partnership with the client and to focus on key objectives which will obtain the right outcome for the client. I would endorse Stefano’s credentials as a highly experienced planner.”
John MacCallum, Director at JM Planning Services
Services
Stefano Smith Planning provides a full range of planning and development consultancy advice.
The range of services provided includes:
Development Management
Stefano Smith Planning has 30 years’ experience of providing high quality, planning and development management advice to the private and public sectors. For example, managing Major EIA planning applications, negotiation of planning obligations, planning agreements (Section 75) and appeals.
We can manage your planning application from inception to implementation. We have extensive experience of working with multi-disciplinary teams, from preparing briefs and obtaining fee proposals for technical input, to reviewing and commenting on supporting information to ensure it is robust and accurate.
Also extensive experience in agricultural developments, rural estate diversification, rights of way/diversions, advertisement consents/shopfronts, Certificates of Lawful Development, Listed Building/Conservation Area Consents, telecommunications, minerals/aggregates, waste, caravan parks/camping sites and energy/power/renewable consents.
Development Planning
Stefano Smith Planning has extensive experience in strategic planning, policy making and rural planning, as well as regeneration.
As a first step in the process we can appraise the prospects of adding value to your land and/or property by way of a Local Development Plan allocation.
We have extensive experience in undertaking strategic site searches and planning assessments to pro-actively identify opportunity sites and inform their development potential and capacity. We also advise on site feasibility and technical due diligence to shape thinking on development viability.
Consenting and Permitting
Stefano Smith Planning has extensive experience in obtaining a variety of consents and permits to enable the delivery of development across a range of legislative regimes, including Town & Country Planning, Electricity and Road/Highways.
Planning Appeals & Expert Witness
Stefano Smith Planning has developed an evidence- based approach in undertaking appeals. Whether as the appellant’s agent or as a specialist consultant, we forensically dissect the planning authority’s reasons for refusal. We will develop and present a case which rebuts the reasoning and evidence given. This approach has resulted in a high success rate at appeals.
Environmental Impact Assessment
Stefano Smith Planning undertakes environmental impact assessments from requesting a Screening Opinion to project managing the multi-disciplinary project team appointed to assess the impacts. All work is produced to a standard template, allowing the completed Environmental Assessment to be read as a single document. We review all technical work produced to ensure that the mitigation required can be delivered post planning approval. This review process also ensures that the impact assessments accord with an evolving proposal and that the proposal also has incorporated all mitigation measures. Projects assessed include large scale urban expansions, windfarms and smaller developments in sensitive locations.
Consultation & Engagement
Our engagement process is designed to listen, understand, respect and react to the needs of the individual stakeholders and community groups. By engaging effectively with stakeholders, and gaining their trust, we can help you to identify the expectations and needs of the wider community, providing an opportunity to consider these within the development proposal, spark productive dialogue, mitigate the potential for misunderstanding and secure buy-in from key influencers and the community.