Our clients include developers, landowners, financial institutions, public sector bodies, retailers and end users.
Whether you are a developer of property; a land owner, occupier or operator; an investor or funder; an agency or a public sector organisation, we can assist and provide advice in relation to the planning and development process. All our clients seek our advice to add value to or protect assets through our specialist knowledge of the planning system.
We act for developers of property, advising on the planning process and securing planning permissions. We pride ourselves in presenting the relevant justification for development in a clear and robust manner and ensuring each member of the project team does the same in their relevant area of expertise. From our experience this hands on approach maximises the chance of the consent authority granting approval.
We work in all property sectors and have negotiated planning approval for a number of large and complex urban projects, and many others that were considered more straight forward. We work with our clients and their teams to devise planning strategies to ensure the desired outcome is achieved.
We have a number of clients who are significant land owners. The need for economic growth and development to house a growing population has resulted in opportunities to promote strategic scale development, often as extensions to existing urban areas. We promote these strategic site opportunities through the forward planning process, such as seeking land use zonings and designations in Development Plans and Local Area Plans, or through planning applications for major mixed-use schemes.
In rural areas we have advised on such sectors as quarries, rural tourism resorts and wind farm proposals.
We provide planning consultancy advice to a number of financial institutions, receivers and other investors in relation to their properties and asset management strategies.
We can assist in adding significant value through active asset management of property portfolios. Due diligence advice is often needed ahead of lending on development schemes. We find ourselves increasingly advising of planning issues and the future potential of distressed property assets where issues have arose due to the economic downturn.
John Spain Associates provide planning consultancy services to local authorities particularly in the area of retail planning, including the preparation of retail strategies and advice on large retail schemes, and forward planning, including the preparation of Local Area Plans and master plans.
We also provide planning consultancy services for other public bodies in relation to their landholdings and proposals for new buildings and infrastructure.
End users of property encompass a wide range of different client types for us. We act for retailers, operators of commercial premises, hotels, leisure operators, restaurants and bars.
Working with the end user of a development scheme, we often secure full planning permission, for application for change of use applications, and negotiate to ensure planning conditions and obligations are not unreasonable or too onerous, which could frustrate development progression.
