Navigating the complexities of local politics and community aspirations to gain planning consent for a development can be a time-consuming and costly process.

Britain’s built environment is undergoing a period of profound change and politics has been a key driver of this process. In recent years public, private and third sector developers have increasingly put communities at the heart of projects.

BPPA is ideally placed to help with this process; we have extensive experience of facilitating community consultation exercises, managing engagement programmes with local authorities as well as engaging with national government.

The BPPA Planning and Community Engagement team includes consultants with a wide variety of experience including former Councillors, a former DCLG civil servant and special advisers. They have the first hand experience to help clients navigate safely through the political and community aspects of the planning process.

BPPA advises clients on strategy, tactics and detail from the beginning to the end of an application. In particular we:

• analyse the political structure of the local authority and planning committee;
• analyse previous applications or other relevant inquiries;
• provide biographical information on Council Leader and Cabinet members, planning committee members, ward councillors and constituency MPs;
• develop the client’s political strategy and key messages for the application;
• attend the Planning Committee on the day and make ourselves available to advise on any follow-up activity;
• where appropriate advise on engagement with cross-cutting bodies such as CABE, Government Offices, RDAs and the GLA;
• deliver a full service for community consultation exercises including resource production, venue booking and drafting statement of community consultation. 

In doing so we aim to ensure that your planning application moves through the planning process with minimum opposition, thereby reducing costly delays to the scheme.