For a growing business such as WEA Planning, recognition in front of a wider audience is a precious privilege.
So it was a great honour for us to be mentioned three times in the October 2018 edition of Grand Designs magazine.
We were particularly proud to be on the suppliers’ list for the project that was featured on the front cover of the edition published in the same month as the prestigious Grand Designs Live show is held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.
We help to make your dreams come true
The development in question was a compelling demonstration of the benefits WEA Planning can bring to a homeowner involved in an ambitious design process.
We acted as consultants on the project and helped the West London couple in question make their dreams come true by applying for several different Permitted Development (PD) permissions relating to parts of the property in advance of the overall planning application.
The owners said: “In total, we had nine different planning applications of various types and having certified our PD rights we applied for full planning for the overall scheme.”
Effectively, we created a fall-back position, drawing up such a compelling set of plans that when they came together as a whole, rejection was not an option.
Permission was granted and the owners moved in nearly two years ago. “We have the home of our dreams that our family gets pleasure from every day,” they told the magazine.
If the owners had gone to their local planning department with a single application, they would undoubtedly have been refused permission – which would have been recorded on their planning history
Make WEA your first port of call
We believe that WEA Planning should be the first port of call for anyone who has a property, or a piece of land, and wants to develop it in a highly individual way – much like the homeowners who feature on the Grand Designs TV show.
An architect will create a vision and design, but we bring a wealth of knowledge of the law and the process – and we have the experience to navigate your way through the UK’s complicated planning system.
We regularly take calls from many people who have gone a long way down the road but hit a planning obstacle. We go to appeal hearings with clients and argue their case, but the process is much more straightforward if we are involved from the start.
Who are our ideal clients?
Our ideal clients come to us early with stimulating, inspiring projects. Ideally they are small-scale, niche developers.
Not only do we use our knowledge of the complexities to advise on planning matters, we can also devise a strategy for the project in question.
The fact that Will Avery, our Founder Director, previously worked at a local authority means we can bring a unique perspective from both sides of the desk.
We will meet your objectives but, at the same time, we know how to keep your aspirations realistic.
The importance of teamwork
Most clients come to us through referrals from architects. The client in question knows they need a team of experts on their project – but our style of planning consultancy tends not to be available within in-house teams.
Our team spend a significant proportion of their time drawing up statements that support the scheme in question and negotiating with planning officers.
We also work with local residents or community groups who want to articulate why an application in their neighbourhood should be rejected.
Example: How we help clients overcome objections
One of our recent projects saw WEA Planning working with Baufritz, the high-end eco-homes builder, on a development in South-West London.
This was in a street of substantial properties that had all been designed in the same very traditional style.
We worked with our clients on a radical, modernist design of a house embracing 1,200 square metres (13,000 square feet) of living space.
The whole street objected on every ground they could muster including scale, volume, depth and design.
The original design would not have been approved; with our help, permission was granted with the minimum of fuss.
Contact us today to find out how WEA Planning can help you
We’d love to hear from you if you have an ambitious development in mind and want to plot a course through the complex world of planning applications.
Call us on 02079932075, email us at info@weaplanning or use the contact form on this site to begin the conversation.
Download the Grand Designs PDF article from the tab below. © Grand Designs magazine, as featured in October 2018
Please also visit granddesignsmagazine.com